Lost on the Road
by Betty the Bonita
Summary: Set immediately after The Past Presents the Future, as an A/U to the series finale. We find Betty and Daniel on the road together, lost. Things on the road may mirror the changes happening in their relationship.
1. Chapter 1

**Lost On the Road**

_A/N: This is just a little idea I had, set right after The Past Presents the Future. I'm thinking it will likely only be about 4-5 chapters, and steer off as an A/U from Hello Goodbye. Let me know what you think. I've deliberately left things ambiguous as to the setting, other than that they're driving together. I'm curious to see where you think they might be headed._

"Did you check the map on the nav system, again?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Yes, of course I did, Daniel. I know how to read a map. You're like every other man and need to get over your aversion to asking for directions. You should've let me drive, in the first place.

Just because you're a man and I'm a woman doesn't mean we have to resort to the fifties all of a sudden and you have to automatically be the one to drive. I'm perfectly capable of driving a stick. A lot better than you, I might add. Having a penis does not make you a better driver than me."

He looked at her, with a mix of shock and amusement. "Excuse me; did you just acknowledge that I have a penis, Betty? After all these years, I thought you were the only woman in New York who wasn't aware of it."

She laughed, "I think I'm probably the only woman in New York who hasn't seen it."

He raised his eyebrows, "Are you coming on to me, Betty?"

She blushed, "No!"

"Are you sure about that?" he teased, loving to see her blush. She was so adorable when she blushed, he thought.

She hit his arm, "Daniel! Knock it off! We need to figure out where we are. If you could go just a little bit closer to the speed limit. I think a horse and buggy just went past us."

He stopped the car, pulling over to the side. She looked at him, "Why are you just stopping like this? We need to go somewhere."

She rolled her eyes, "Is this because I complained about your driving? I'm sorry, I'm sure you're a brilliant driver. You'd beat any old lady in Pasadena." She teased.

He started tickling her, "Okay, that's it, you asked for it, Betty." They both ended up laughing hysterically, with him on top of her.

After a few seconds of breathless giggling, she realized how they must look to passersby. She tugged on him, "Um, Daniel, you should get up now."

He looked around and Betty could swear; he almost seemed embarrassed. She loved it when Daniel actually got embarrassed. He looked like a cute little boy, caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The man had done things she couldn't imagine, all without batting an eye, it seemed.

He was so like his mother in that respect. Betty still couldn't get over how the first time she met Claire, and had taken her to the spa; the woman had flashed her, several times. Yeah, those Meades sure weren't ashamed of their bodies.

Of course, seeing as how Daniel had such a _nice_ body…wait, did she just think that? About her best friend? "Okay, this looks like sort of a town or village or something. There might actually be some people here we can talk to and see if this place is anywhere in the area."

Betty heard a loud knocking sound coming from the car's engine, "What was that?"

He looked worried, "I don't know, but I think your friend's car here is in serious need of a tune up or something. It drives like crap."

She huffed, "Well, just because not everyone can afford Aston Martins or Mercedes, or Audis, or Lamborghinis, Daniel, doesn't mean you should make fun."

"Hey, the Aston Martin is Mom's, not mine. And the Mercedes was my dad's. The Audi used to belong to Alexis and well, the Lamborghini was sort of a joke. I was trying to impress an Italian model."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head, and putting up her hand, "Spare me. So, you spent more money than a lot of people pay for a house just to get into some Italian Model's pants? And now you never even drive the thing. It sits in your garage that you pay storage on. And God knows, you'll never even speak to that model again. You probably don't even remember her name. Come to think of it, you most likely didn't say anything much to her to begin with, if she only spoke Italian!"

"Is this about the money you think I'm wasting, or the fact that I slept with an Italian model? Which one are you judging me for this time, Betty?"

She took a breath, "It's a tossup. They both are beneath you, Daniel."

"Well, the model sure was…"

She shook her head, "Don't even go there! I get it; you were a man-whore. But now you're not, thank God, so let's just not talk about those days, okay. I honestly wasn't all that crazy about you back then. So, I…"

He furrowed his brow, and looked at her, smirking, "Wait, so am I to understand you ARE 'crazy about me' _now?"_

She stuttered, "That's not what I meant, Daniel. You're being so weird today. What's with you, anyway?"

"I'm not being weird, Betty. I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're being very weird. First, you accuse me of coming on to you. Since when have I ever done that? Then, you pull over the car and start tickling me, and…laying on top of me. What is with you, anyway?"

He shrugged, "Nothing. Nothing is 'with me', okay?"

"Daniel. You know you can't lie to me."

"Okay, just stop it with that stuff. I can, too. I mean, I'm not, and I wouldn't lie to you, but that doesn't mean I _couldn't_, if I wanted to."

"Why would you want to?"

"I didn't say I would. I just said I could if I wanted to."

"Whatever, Daniel. Go ahead, lie to me. Then, make that goofy face you always make; and I'll know that you're lying."

"What, you mean this goofy face?" He crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue at her, making her giggle, in spite of her attempt to keep a straight face, "You're an idiot, Daniel. Don't drive like that. You won't be able to see."

"You're not the boss of me, bossy Betty."

"You are five. You know that? I wish all those women that think you're so hot would see how you act around me sometimes, and they wouldn't be so turned on."

"Thanks a lot. Now, you're telling me you don't think I'm hot, huh? Well, that's too bad, because I happen to think you are."

"I am what? Oh, you mean…_hot_? You think _I'm_ hot? Seriously? Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. Why would I say that as a joke? Of course you are. You know you are."

"No, I didn't, actually. But…thank you."

"You're welcome, hot stuff." he grinned.

She rolled her eyes, "You are so NOT funny, Daniel."

"Wow, I just can't win with you today, can I? Now I'm not hot, _and_ I'm not funny? Plus, you don't want to see my stuff. I'm really striking out today. I must be losing it." he gave her his patented 'puppy dog eyes'.

She rolled her eyes, trying to figure out why he was acting so strangely, and pretended to ignore him, and his sexy blue eyes. If she didn't know him so well, she'd almost say he was flirting with her. But Daniel never flirted with Betty. Well, sort of, maybe. But not like he had been lately, it seemed. He had been acting very different around her, ever since Hilda's wedding. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she had sensed him acting…almost nervous around her suddenly.

In fact, she hadn't seen him act this nervous around anyone since…well, Sofia Reyes, perhaps. He had fallen for Molly, and even Renee, to some degree, but his confidence hadn't seemed so shaky around them.

But, what really confused Betty was, it seemed like it was happening when it was just the two of them.

After finally checking their directions, they headed back on the road. Betty came out with snacks for the rest of the trip. "I got the chips and jelly beans you like and the chips I like and….the cookies we both like!"

He moaned, "God, we're gonna be sick, you know."

"Well, you don't have to eat them if you don't want them, Daniel."

"I didn't say I didn't want them. But, you're really going to eat those cheese and onion things?"

She shrugged, "I like them."

He grimaced, "Yeah, but…never mind."

"What? You've got your chips. I'll share these if you want some, but you don't like them, right?"

He had grabbed the bag from her and started crunching on his chips. "Nothing, I just know my stuff doesn't give me onion breath, that's all. That's more than I can say for those things of yours."

She shrugged, "So? I'm not planning on kissing anyone today or anything. I'll make sure not to breathe too heavy on you, if they offend you so much."

"Fine. I guess I won't be kissing you, either."

She looked at him like he had just grown two heads. "Kissing me? Uh…were you planning on it or something? Since when?"

He bit his lip, and tried to hide his smile, "I don't know. Maybe. Since…well, since Hilda's wedding, I guess."

"Really?"

He seemed slightly annoyed, "Yeah, really. I can't believe you're so dense, Betty. I've been trying to let you know I wanted to…maybe go out or something. But, you always change the subject, like you're afraid to talk about us. You never let me get in a word edgewise."

She looked at him, "You want to go out with me? Me?"

"Yes, you. Why not you? Neither of us is dating anyone right now. I dumped Trista, because you made it so obvious how jealous you were and you finally came to your senses and sent Henry packing, even after you made your drunken booty call to him that time from London."

She looked at him, as he made his way back onto the road, eating his chips as he drove.

"Booty call? That's not what it was, Daniel. I did drunk dial him, I admitted that already. But I just invited him to Hilda's wedding, is all. Nothing else. And as you know, I ended up not taking him anyway."

"Yeah, after you uninvited me, at first. That hurt, Betty."

"I told you I was sorry, Daniel. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. It's all water under the bridge, now, anyway. We had a good time at the wedding, didn't we?"

"Yeah. I know we did. We had a great time together. That's sort of my point."

"About what? Oh, you mean…"

"Yeah, I mean, us…going out. Why not? We're both single, attractive adults. As you pointed out before, I'm a man, you're a woman. We know each other, we get along great. Why the hell shouldn't we go out?"

She blushed. "I don't know. I guess I never really…thought about it before, Daniel."

"Well…think about it now."


	2. Chapter 2

**Lost on the Road**

**Chapter 2**

Betty felt as if her heart were beating out of her chest after Daniel's earlier revelation that he had been thinking about asking her out. Her? Betty Suarez, on a date with Daniel Meade?

She felt like she was on that show and someone was going to jump out (possibly Marc or Amanda), shouting, "Surprise, you're on Candid Camera!" He had to be joking. But the incredible thing was, she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't.

For the next half hour or more, they didn't say a word. Daniel turned up the radio and they sat, in silence, listening. She, pretending to look interested in the map she had been staring at the same spot on dumbly the whole time, and he, squinting at the road and the other cars, houses, farms, anything to avoid having to look at her again, having to face her after he had blurted out what he had been thinking about for the past month and a half now.

Daniel knew things had to change, though. He had gotten to the point where he could barely look at her anymore. He blamed her sister and that heartfelt speech she gave, all that stuff about loving someone and knowing them better than they knew themselves. He couldn't help himself.

The minute she said those words, he felt as if everyone in the room was staring at him and all he could do was stare at Betty, mesmerized by her, knowing Hilda could have just as easily written them about him and her sister, and feeling as if they were meant for him to finally act upon.

He had tried to think of something clever to say to Betty, while they were dancing, but she had laughed at him, telling him he was getting smarter, just not being around Trista. That had given him some hope and courage, knowing in his heart that Betty seemed jealous of the woman. Of course, he couldn't say his poor reference for Henry wasn't motivated by jealousy, too. He was surprised she hadn't called him on that, when she had yelled at him for it. But, then again, she had never seemed to pick up on the reason for his hatred of all her boyfriends.

He had played the overprotective older boss, just looking out for his naïve assistant's welfare. But somewhere, deep down, he wondered if she knew. If she could tell he had a secret motive for despising any man who came near her.

He knew his mother had suspected his true feelings for quite some time now. She had been dropping hints, left and right. In fact, it had been her suggestion for Betty to come with him on this little trip.

Daniel had been pleasantly surprised when she had agreed so readily, especially considering it would involve overnight travel, but he figured she probably had taken his attendance with her at her sister's wedding to mean she owed him and so hadn't refused. (Even if he had been her second choice after stupid Henry, he reluctantly realized).

He couldn't believe how much he had wanted to shout; "YEAH!" when she had first told him the dufus wasn't coming after all. The night had been amazing. She looked beautiful and they had so much fun. He never wanted it to end. When it did, he had felt like a high school kid, wondering if he should at least kiss her on the cheek or something. He had chickened out and stupidly, awkwardly opted to kiss her hand, bowing, like some dorky idiot.

But, of course, sweet girl that she was, Betty had merely blushed slightly, and giggled at his silly move, curtsying to him, "Thank you, kind sir. I had a lovely evening. Seriously, thanks, Daniel. I had so much fun. I'm really glad you could make it."

"Of course, Betty. It was great. You wore me out. You're a good dancer."

That night they had seemed like just a man and woman, out on a date of sorts. No boss/assistant or even 'just friend' labels to get in the way. It had been the most fun he could remember. They laughed and talked till late, and he offered to walk her out, but she had insisted that he should go on, because she needed to stay and help clean up.

Afterwards, things had continued to feel more and more awkward at work. The rumor mill was working overtime now that Daniel and Betty had officially 'gone on their first date', or so the gossip went. He didn't care one bit about what people said, though. They had been hearing lots of talk for the past four years, and it only increased after Molly's death, reaching its peak after Daniel had punched Matt at the UN, many assuming Matt's accusation to be correct.

Still, they had managed to keep things light and pleasant enough up till now. But something had to give. Daniel felt like an adolescent, waiting for his first kiss or something. Well, that 'or something' sounded really good about now, actually. He couldn't help but wonder if Betty had been seeing anyone since Matt had left. He doubted it. He was fairly certain she would have told her best friend if she had another man in her life. One besides him; that is.

After what seemed like an eternity, Betty finally pointed to a restaurant, "How about we stop for some coffee, Daniel? I'm getting tired, so you must be, too. Plus, I need to use the restroom."

"Again? Geez, you're like a kid or something. Or…a pregnant woman."

She gave him an annoyed glare.

"Sorry. You're right. I could use some coffee. It's getting dark, and we're only halfway there. Stupid Google Maps, saying it's only four or five hours, never sat in Midtown traffic for forty-five minutes or for twenty minutes just getting out of the damn Holland Tunnel."

He went around and opened the door for her, and she got out, taking his hand. As soon as she had stepped out of the car, she looked down at their hands, now with his thumb, rubbing across the top of hers, slowly, as if he were deep in thought.

The sudden electricity of their touch seemed to be hitting them both. They glanced at one another, then back down to their hands. Daniel stopped what he was doing and smiled at her, "I really appreciate you being willing to do this, Betty."

She shrugged, "Hey, you'd do the same for me, right? It's fine. I'm glad to help, Daniel. Not that you need me, really. You could have asked a lot of other women to come with you."

His voice got that low, grumbly timbre that she both loved and hated, "Not really. You're the only one I really wanted to come, Betty. You're the one who knows me better than anybody."

She smiled and nodded, as she admitted softly, "I guess that's true."

He cleared his throat, pulling her after him, "Come on, let's get that coffee. At this rate, who knows how long it's going to take us to get there. Especially with this uh…interesting car."

She raised her eyebrows, "Hey, you're the one who asked if I had access to one. You said you didn't want a rental, and you couldn't get into your family garage to get one of your expensive cars. It was lucky Bobby had this one at all. He uses it for his driving lessons. I'm sure he maintains it."

He nodded, "Yeah, I would think so. I don't really know anything about cars, so…I wouldn't know if there's anything wrong with it or not. But I assure you, I drive a LOT faster in the Lamborghini! Or any of the other cars I've driven, believe me. It's the car, not me that's slow."

She teased, as he led her inside the restaurant, "Of course you do, Daniel. All I know is, when Bobby taught me to drive a stick, I peeled out pretty fast in this car."

"When, the time you were trying to get away from the dweeby guy your sister tried to fix you up with? Yeah, that's probably when you messed it up, peeling away like you did."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh of course, so I'm the one who's making the car drive terrible! You know what they say, Daniel, a poor musician blames his instrument."

He looked at her as if he was going to say something, but held off, getting them a booth. "Go, little girl, go potty for the millionth time. I'll get us both some coffee. Maybe we could share some vegetables or something, so we don't vomit from all that junk food you got earlier."

She shook her head, "Fine, get a stir fry or a big salad maybe. And a huge glass of water for me, I'm dying of thirst."

"Great, then you'll have to stop again in an hour. At this rate, it's going to take us two days to get there."

She ignored his complaining and left him to get them a booth. While he sipped his coffee, he wondered how they were going to pull this off. He took out the box he had gotten from Nigel and looked at the rings. He hadn't thought of ever wearing a wedding ring again since he had finally taken his off, after the Phoenix mess, to try and get some closure from Molly's death.

Now, he was going to be wearing one that he didn't really earn. Not that he couldn't see things ever developing that far, but…at this point; he felt like such a boy around Betty that he didn't know how to act around her anymore. Their easy, friendly banter seemed to be diminishing, as both of them started to sense their growing attraction towards one another. It was if they were walking in a mine field. How do you go from best friends who share everything to…a man and a woman who start dating? Good question. And not one Daniel was sure of the answer to at this point.

She came back and sat down, her eyes drawn to the rings he held. "Are you sure about this, Daniel? You really want to do this? Pretend to be married?"

He grinned at her, and grabbed her hand, slipping on the rings, "Sure, why not? Who else am I going to pretend to be married to, Betty? There is nobody else who knows me well enough to pull this off. We know way more about each other than most married couples I know. It'll be a piece of cake. We might have to pretend to fight a little, though. We get along too well to really be married."


	3. Chapter 3

**Lost on the Road**

**Chapter 3**

They shared a large salad, Betty picking out the parts she didn't like and Daniel absently putting dressing on for her, without thinking.

An elderly woman, who had been dining alone, was getting ready to leave the diner after settling her bill, when she stopped by their booth, "I just want to tell you, you two are the cutest couple. You remind me of my late husband, Bill and me when we were your age. We finished each other's sentences, and ate together, were like two peas in a pod. We started out being so different, but somehow together…we just worked. I lost him two years ago this May. Not a day goes by, that I don't miss him still. But, seeing you two…made me smile. Reminded me of our good times. I just wanted to say thanks for that. You take care."

They introduced themselves briefly and smiled as the woman, Cindy, she told them was her name left.

They looked at each other after she had gone, then both looked down at the table. Daniel smiled, taking Betty's hand and looking at the rings he had put there, "See? We can fool anybody, Betty. We know each other pretty well, I'd say. If some lady thinks we remind her of herself and her husband she was married to for forty-eight years, I think we can handle a few uptight snobs who don't know you at all and only remember me from so long ago, when I was a totally different guy."  
She nodded, "I guess you're right. This should be a piece of cake. A piece of crumb cake…" she laughed, knowing he would get her SNL reference, since they had both recently watched re-runs of it together.

He laughed, too, and they cracked each other up, imitating 'Father Sarducci'. Then, they got back on the road, and traveled a good twenty miles or more, when they saw a small car, sitting on the side of the road, with its flashers on. They slowed down, to see the woman from the diner, sitting inside her car, looking frightened.

"Daniel, we've got to…

"pull over, I know, Betty." He was already slowing down further, and pulling behind the woman.

They both got out and asked her what was wrong, "I don't know. Bill always took care of the maintenance. I've probably let it go too long between oil changes, and…who knows? I just get in the thing, and hope it starts. I know for a fact, there's no gas stations anywhere around here. The closest one is about ten miles south and they don't have a mechanic on duty. I….don't suppose you'd mind dropping me off at home. I'm only five miles away, just off the highway, at the next exit.

I can at least offer you some dessert. I make the best chocolate cake in town, Bill always said. It's not…too bad, if I do say so myself. I can call for a tow from Triple A tomorrow, when the garage is open and see what's wrong with the old girl. Other than being neglected." She smiled sweetly.

"Of course! We'd be happy to take you home." Betty started to climb into the back seat, allowing her to 'ride shotgun'. But Daniel looked at her,

"Honey, why don't you drive? That way you ladies can both ride in the front. I know you get car sick in the back, anyway. I don't mind. You're a great driver." He said sweetly.

"That's so sweet, when a man actually gives his wife credit for doing something. Driving was one of the few things me and Bill did fight about. He was a typical man and just thought that meant he could drive better than I did!"

Betty smirked at Daniel. "Really? That's something Daniel and I NEVER fight about, do we, sweetie-pie?"

"That's right, snookems. We hardly fight about anything, as a matter of fact. Except at work." He turned to Cindy, "Betty and I work together, back in New York."

She nodded, "Well, that must be a little difficult, I would expect. I can't imagine working with your husband would be too easy. Seeing him all day, around other pretty girls. That would be very hard to take. Can't say as I would like that much, if I were you, Betty."

Betty pulled back onto the road and smiled, "It's got its good and bad points. Of course, like you said, it's hard watching Daniel be around all those other pretty girls all day. But, then again, he and I can always sneak off for a quickie in the copy room. He likes that, don't you, Daniel? It keeps things fresh for us, you know?"

She smiled into the rear view mirror at him, as he hugged the seat, leaning around to her, and whispered, "That does sound fun. I can't wait to get back to New York and try it out again with you, Betty."

She rolled her eyes, and mouthed; "Dream on" in the mirror. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged, grinning.

Just as they turned onto the long, graveled driveway for Cindy's home, the car lurched forward suddenly, sending them all flying. Betty cried out, "Damn! What was that?"

Daniel chuckled, trying to remember if he had ever heard the woman curse before in the four years he had known her. Leave it to cars to bring it out, he thought. She stopped the car, turning off the engine. "Great. Now this stupid car is messing up. I'm so sorry. Are you two okay? I have no idea what happened just then. It just suddenly revved up all by itself."

Cindy was shaken, but fine, "Oh, dear. I'm afraid I must be a jinx to cars tonight. We're less than a half a mile down this road, though. Come and stay the night and we'll see if Herb can send both his tow trucks in the morning. One for my car and one for yours. He'll be grateful for all the business, I expect. At least somebody will be happy. I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry; it was acting up before, when I was driving it, too. I tried to tell Betty it had some problems, but I think she thought it was my bad driving."

"Now, dear. I think you're a wonderful driver. I'd never say that."

"Of course not, darling." He grinned, jumping out of the back seat to open the door for both ladies. He held out both his arms, "Wow, aren't I the lucky guy? I've got two lovely ladies to escort home tonight!"

Cindy laughed, "Wow, you really are the charmer, aren't you, Daniel. Betty, watch this one. All the ladies will be after him. You'd better keep him under lock and key."

She nodded and smiled, "I intend to."

"Sounds kinky. I look forward to it." he smirked. They strolled down the lane until they reached Cindy's home, a lovely two-story brick house, with a fireplace and a large garden in the back yard. It had a large front yard, with many flowers and grass that was a bit overgrown.

"Sorry the place looks so out of sorts. I've been having a bit of trouble getting anyone out this far to keep up with the yard work. Bill and I used to do it ourselves, but…I'm getting a bit older and slower lately and can't always get to it."

"Daniel, maybe you could help her tomorrow, while we're waiting for the car to be fixed." Betty volunteered.

He looked at her, "Uh…sure. I'm not all that sure what to do. You know, being from New York, I haven't done much uh…yard work before. But, if you tell me what to do, I'd be happy to help, Cindy."

She squeezed his arm, "You two really are a blessing to me, aren't you? Thank you, Daniel. I'd sure appreciate that. Come on, in you go. Just have a seat there. I'll see to the fire…"

"I do know how to start a fire, Cindy. I can do that for you. You do have me looking forward to some of that cake, though. Betty is a total chocaholic and she's got me into it, too, now, I'm afraid."

Betty offered, "Can I help?"

While Daniel started the fire, Betty brought out the cake and some milk and coffee. While they were eating, Cindy disappeared upstairs for a few minutes, to change and Betty and Daniel sat in the small, but lovely dining room. He offered her a bite, "This is good, here, I know you'll love it. It's dark chocolate." She closed her eyes, savoring the flavor.

"Mmmm…wow, that is delicious. Want some more?"

He nodded, meeting her gaze as she put a bite into his mouth. As he chewed, slowly, he nodded, "Good" he managed, with his mouth still full.

He laughed, "You uh…have a little chocolate on the side of your uh…mouth, there." He started to wipe it away for her with his napkin, but wiggled his brows and smiled, as he got closer to her mouth and licked it off, then moved even closer, "yummy."

She thought she might seriously have a stroke right now, as he started to kiss her, but she was saved by Cindy, coming down the stairs, giggling quietly, "Oops, sorry, you two. Didn't mean to interrupt your fun. Here, I know you left your things in the car. Here's a nightgown for you, Betty. And Daniel, I think you're close to the same build as my Bill was, so here's some pjs' for you, son.

The guest bedroom is at the top of the stairs on the right. I don't know how to thank you two. I don't know what I would have done tonight if I had broken down by myself. I feel like Bill sent you two angels to help look after me now that he can't. Good night. Sleep tight."

They murmured their good nights to Cindy and each took a deep breath. Betty pulled away, and looked down at the night gown, "Well, uh…this could be a little awkward, Daniel. I don't guess Cindy would buy us sleeping in separate bedrooms."

He smiled, "It's fine. I'll take the floor. Unless there's a chair or something. I promise, I'll be a good fake husband and keep my hands to myself, wifey dear."

She smiled back at him, "Thanks, Daniel."

"Sure. What are husbands for, Betty?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Lost on the Road**

_A/N: Okay, I'm going to stop 'predicting' how long my stories will take. This is one I had planned to be fairly short, and it still will, be relatively so, but I have a few more 'pit stops' in mind for our pair. LOL! _

Chapter 4

Betty bumped into Daniel as she started to run into the bathroom. "Sorry. You go first, Betty. I'll get dressed out here. I might as well wait to take a shower till after I do that yard work you volunteered me for tomorrow, anyway. I'm sure I'll be getting all sweaty."

She stood, looking up at him, trying not to think about him, sweaty or uh…well, licking her lips like he did earlier. Anything that was going to make her go into shock. Why did he keep looking at her like that, anyway? He was making her very nervous right now, and she was finding it nearly impossible to breathe. She squeaked out, "Okay, thanks, I'll be quick. Uh, sorry about the yard work thing, Daniel. I can help if you want. I used to work with my dad in the yard at our house in Queens."  
"Yeah, but that's like about a tenth of the size of this place, Betty. It's fine, though. I guess the exercise'll do me good after all those chips and cookies you got plus the cake tonight. I noticed you never ate your onion chips, though. I thought you liked them. Change your mind for some reason?" He smirked.

She rushed past him into the bathroom. "I wasn't that hungry after all. I'll be right out."

"Take your time. I'll enjoy the bed as long as I can."

She closed the door quickly and breathed a sigh of relief, then jumped into the shower, half way wondering if she should lock the door. Daniel was really freaking her out, being so…strange.

He had stripped to his boxers, then put on the pajama bottoms. He started to put on the shirt, but decided to just lay on the bed for a while, relaxing while Betty was using the bathroom. He hoped Cindy had some spare toothbrushes, he hated to go to bed without brushing. Especially with chocolate on his teeth, he thought. That made him remember that hot almost kiss earlier. He so wished Cindy hadn't come downstairs right when she did. He was just getting his nerve up.

He did wonder why Betty had decided against the onion chips. Did she _want_ him to kiss her? She was sort of sending mixed signals to his way of thinking. On one hand, when they were pretending to be the happy couple in front of Cindy, she had seemed confident, and flirty. He loved it. But, when it was just them, she acted shy and sort of unsure of what she wanted, almost afraid of him.

Normally, he didn't have to work this hard. Not that he minded; it made it interesting. The last time he had this much trouble 'sealing the deal', was Sofia. Of course, things weren't completely easy with Molly at first, either, but that was mainly because she wasn't really available; she was still engaged to Connor. Renee was easy enough, but had a lot of baggage, not the least of which was being nuts! (Not to mention who her sister happened to be; that definitely explained the nuts part.).

But Betty…she was-different. She wasn't like any woman Daniel had ever known. She was sweet, caring, kind, all these wonderful things. Plus, she was smart, funny, creative, not to mention feisty. She always challenged him. She never allowed him to settle for less than his best. She brought out the best in him. He knew he would never find anyone else like her. He was starting to think, he didn't want to keep looking for anyone else.

"Daniel!" Betty came out of the bathroom, looking extremely cute in the nightgown Cindy had given her. It surprisingly, wasn't a 'granny' gown, as Daniel had expected, but was a sleeveless gown, with a somewhat fitted waist and a rounded neckline. Betty was a lot larger on the top than Cindy, so it was rather revealing.

"Wow! Nice gown, Betty!" Daniel's eyes popped wide. She blushed and instinctively tried to cross her arms shyly over her breasts.

He got up and moved over, "Sorry, I sort of dozed off for a minute. I'll go and wash up and get ready for that nice, cozy chair."

Betty couldn't help but notice how good the man looked without his shirt on. She berated herself. Wasn't she doing to him what she had just gotten all shy about him doing to her-ogling him? Still…the guy looked all kinds of awesome right now.

"Hey, did you notice if Cindy has any extra toothbrushes, Betty?"

He almost jumped as she stood in the bathroom door, holding a travel toothbrush she had gotten from her purse. "Here. I always care a few spare. I hate not brushing before I go to bed or when I first wake up."

"Me, too." He said, as he took the brush from her, keeping his hand over hers, "Thanks, Betty."

She smiled, "Sure. I've got travel toothpaste, too if you want."

He nodded, smiling, as she handed him the small toothpaste tube, "What, no mouthwash? She shrugged, "Sorry. Takes up too much room and I'd be afraid it might spill. I've always got gum, though. Just in case I eat too many onion chips and decide I want to kiss somebody." She smirked.

He grinned at her, "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

She got into bed and tried to breathe. After a few minutes, he came back out.

"Well, I guess this is…goodnight, Betty. Listen, I know I told you this before, but I really do appreciate you agreeing to do this for me. I don't know why it should bug me so much. It shouldn't matter what people think so much, but…I just hate giving some people satisfaction, sometimes, you know?"

She blurted out, before thinking, "I don't know, I heard you like giving satisfaction." God, why the HELL did I just say that, she thought? Am I stupid? OR just born with my foot in my mouth!

He raised his eyebrows and came and sat on the bed, next to her, "Really? What, have you heard? Do I have a 'satisfaction guaranteed' website I should know about or something?"

She giggled, in spite of herself, thinking she deserved what she got for being so ridiculous sometimes. She really had to stop saying the first thing that popped into her head. She nodded, reluctantly, "Sort of, yeah. I don't know who started it, but it's like the opposite of my daily disasters thing Marc did on me. Some woman who claims to have…been with you bragged about how great you were and then some other girl got on and did the same thing, so it sort of uh…took off."

He looked surprised, but not in a good way, "Seriously? Jesus, can I make them take that down? I don't want that online. Girls talking about me like that. That's private. Why would they do that?"

She was pleasantly surprised that he wasn't happy about it. "I'm not sure. Maybe. I mean, you could register a complaint, since it's about you, I think. I could look into getting it taken down for you when we get back."

He smiled, "Thanks, Betty. Hey, how did you hear about it, anyway?"

She shrugged, "I was your assistant. I googled you a lot to see about any bad press you were getting, so it didn't reflect poorly on Mode."

"It's been around that long? Why didn't you tell me about it before?"

She shrugged, "I didn't think you'd care before, really."

Okay, he hated to admit it, but she was right. He probably would have thought it was cool or something when he was younger. But now…it bothered him. Girls talking about something so intimate, telling the whole world like that? It seemed very wrong.

He smiled at her, feeling rather exposed, wondering what she had read on that site about him. Who knew what kind of crazy things women might have posted? Her comment alone had him curious and somewhat concerned. What kind of freak had those women made him out to be, he wondered?

"Betty…listen. Thanks for letting me know about it, okay."

"Sure. Sorry. I probably should have told you about it a long time ago."

He shrugged, "Well, I didn't tell you about the stupid thing of Marc's, either."

"You thought I already knew."

"Yeah. I really liked a lot of your outfits. I like the way you dress now, too, of course."

"Thanks."

"Well, good night."

"Good night, Daniel."

He sat in the chair, trying to get comfortable, messing around with blankets and pillows for a few minutes, shifting around.

Finally, Betty sighed, "Daniel, stop! I know that can't be comfortable. Get in here."

His eyes lit up, but she held up her hand, "To sleep. You can sleep in the bed, on _top_ of the covers. You have your own blankets."

He nodded, "Okay, Betty. I get it. Like I said, hands to myself, I promise. This marriage thing is only pretend, I know. Thanks. I'll try not to snore."

He brought the blankets with him and saw the pajama shirt, lying on the night stand. He picked it up and put it on, carefully getting on top of the covers, as she scooted over, making room for him.

As he looked over at her, he couldn't help thinking how beautiful she looked. It was slightly driving him crazy not to touch her right now. Not to do a lot more than touch her, in fact. But, he wanted her to feel comfortable, not to rush her into anything. Still, he couldn't help teasing her just a little.

He turned over, looking at her, "Can I just tell you how hot you look right now, Betty? No agenda, not trying to do anything you aren't interested in doing; I just think you look really pretty. You tasted pretty good, too."

She sighed, "I still can't believe you did that, Daniel. Oh, but, thank you for saying I look nice."

He moved a little closer, "I didn't say you looked 'nice', Betty. I said you looked hot and pretty. Nice is what you call little old ladies. You look…sexy. Very sexy. And I'm not sorry I did what I did. I'm only sorry that Cindy came downstairs when she did. Because I think you really wanted me to kiss you. Didn't you?"

"NO!"

"Well, why didn't you slap me, then?"

"I don't know. I was in shock, Daniel. I've never had a guy lick me before."

He shrugged, "You sure were in shock long enough. I took my time. You tasted really good."

"Cut that out. You…can't just go around…licking me."

"Yes, ma'am. No more licking your mouth."

"No more licking…anything!"

He laughed, "What else did you think I was going to lick, Betty?"

"Do you want to sleep in the bed, or not, Daniel?"

"Yes, very much."  
"Then, this conversation is over. Understand?"

"Okay. Whatever you say, Betty. No more licking talk. Can I just ask…never mind."

He waited till she turned her head, then he put his finger on her chin, tilting her face towards his, and leaned forward and kissed her, slowly and seductively.

She was in shock at first, then as she felt his tongue, and his arms slip around her waist, she pushed him away, "Daniel! Knock it off!" She slapped him.

He put his hand on his cheek, and shook his head, "I'm sorry, Betty. I sort of felt like at least part of you wanted me to try that. But, you're right. I broke our agreement. Do you want me to go back to the chair?"

She shook her head, "No. You're fine as long as you stay on your side of the bed. I'm not…one of the girls on that website, though, okay? I'm not some girl that just jumps into bed with every guy she thinks is hot and sweet. Why are you grinning like that?"

He smiled, "Hey, I got a kiss, I get to sleep with you, sort of, at least in the same bed with you, and you just said you think I'm hot and sweet. I'd say that's definite progress for the first night. Totally worth getting slapped." He put his hand to his cheek, smiling in spite of the sting her slap had caused.


	5. Chapter 5

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Still don't own Ugly Betty! (sorry, I've been forgetting this part)_

* * *

Betty woke, wrapped in Daniel's arms. She found she had rolled onto his chest, with his arms around her waist. She had to admit, she didn't hate it. She felt warm and safe. She tried not to do anything really stupid right now, like return his aborted kiss attempt from last night. She didn't really think kissing Daniel Meade while they were in bed together was a great idea, as much as she was tempted.

Especially after some of the things she had read on that website about him. Although, they certainly did make her curious. She understood him wanting it taken down. He was right, those things were private, and shouldn't be on a public website. On the other hand, no one had said anything to trash him. Quite the opposite. They all said what an incredibly giving and unselfish lover he was, and how amazing. And now, she was in bed with him. She had just actually _slept_ with Daniel. She couldn't help but smile, thinking she was probably the only woman in New York who could actually say that. Considering, there normally didn't seem to be a lot of actual sleeping going on.

He moaned softly and stirred, turning away. She moved slightly, so he wouldn't be disturbed. She was very aware of his body. Of his strong, firm back and well-toned shoulders. Even through the top of the pajamas that Cindy had given Daniel to wear, Betty could see how nicely defined his muscles were and how easily she could get lost in those nice arms of his. She sighed, trying not to stare at him, then turned the other way, to face the wall.

After a few minutes, she felt him watching her, and turned back around, to face him, "Oh, hey. Good morning, Daniel. You're awake."

He smiled, brushing a stray strand of her hair away from her eyes, "Yeah. Good morning, Betty. Kind of weird, you and me, waking up together, after all these years, huh? I mean, not quite how _I_ always pictured us, but…still, kind of nice, don't you think?"

She shrugged, "I guess so. You…pictured us together before?"

"Well, yeah. I sort of always wondered what it would be like, you know, with you."

She held up her hand, and sat up, pulling the sheet up over her cleavage, "Okay, Daniel. I don't know where all this is coming from. But, just because I said I'd be willing to pretend to some of your old friends that we were married, doesn't mean we're going to act like we are…in the bedroom. This was just a one-time thing tonight in front of Cindy, okay?

You promised, once we get there, separate bedrooms. We get a suite and you sleep in your bed, I sleep in mine, right? No…kissing me when we're in bed, or licking chocolate off me or… anything like that again, understood? Just friendly hand holding, and arms around each other, maybe some dancing to convince your friends you're not still a player.

And they'll think you're not the last one in your group NOT to be married. I can understand you feeling weird about that. I mean, I'm only twenty-six and believe me, I totally get the whole, all my friends are married but me thing, really I do. That's why I agreed to this crazy scheme of yours in the first place.

But last night was totally out of line. You're my friend. I let you sleep in the bed so you'd be comfortable and you…you…"

"took advantage of your good nature, I know. I'm sorry, Betty. I guess I just couldn't help myself as a guy…I saw an opening and felt like I had to take it. But as your friend, I really didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable or anything.

I'm not going to apologize for kissing you, though. I still say you wanted me to do that. Otherwise, you would have eaten those chips." He gave her his best 'I know I'm charming smile',

"But I honestly didn't mean to make you feel weird after being so nice to me. So, I'll lay off the inappropriate stuff, I promise. I'm sure it makes you feel…vulnerable, being in bed with a guy with my reputation."

"Right. Thank you. So, I'll go get dressed in the bathroom if you want to dress out here again."

"Are we getting up so soon? It's early, Betty. We've got all day before we need to get there and that's just to register. Besides, we don't know how long the car's going to take. The mechanic isn't even there for another hour. I thought we could hang out for a little, just…talk or relax or something. Unless you think I should start on that yard work right now. Are you that anxious to see me doing manual labor?"

She smiled, "I'm sure it will do you good. Actually, I never minded working out in the yard with my dad. I always thought it was kind of fun."

"Well, if you're helping me, I'm sure it will be fun. You always have a way of making even boring stuff seem fun."

"Thank you, Daniel." She got up, and disappeared into the bathroom to get dressed, back into the jeans and white button down shirt she had been wearing the day before. As she came back out, she forgot to let Daniel know she was coming and walked out to see him still pulling on his undershirt, after taking off the pajama top.

"Oh! Sorry!" she started to go back into the bathroom to give him some more privacy, but he waved her back in, "It's okay. You've seen ME topless before, Betty. I'm still waiting for you to return the favor, though." He grinned at her.

"Yeah, well, you can keep waiting for that one, Daniel. Not gonna happen, sorry. Not unless you want your other cheek slapped."

He shrugged, "Now that would definitely be worth a cheek slap!"

They both made up the bed, and Daniel went into the bathroom to wash up. When he came out, in his jeans and his undershirt, Betty drew a breath in, trying not to stare at the man, and thinking this was going to be a very long trip.

He smiled, and putting his hand on the small of her back, he leaned down and whispered, "Ready to get sweaty, wife?"

She grinned back at him and put up her hand, "You're on!" He laughed, slapping her hand.

"Oh, I see, so this is a competition, huh? You can't be serious, Betty. I'm sorry, but I'm taller and have a lot better upper body strength."

She shrugged, "Maybe, but I have extremely strong legs, and unlike you, the spoiled, pampered, Park Avenue boy, I actually KNOW what I'm doing!"

"We'll see about that, Betty. I may be a spoiled, pampered Park Avenue MAN, but I think you'll see I'm also a very fast learner."

They went downstairs, finding Cindy had prepared breakfast for them. "Well, good morning, you two! I hope you slept well. I made some cinnamon rolls and bacon for us. Herb's shop should be opening up in about half an hour or so. I didn't know you'd be up so early. The coffee's almost ready, if you want some."

"Definitely!" Betty and Daniel both said, enthusiastically, making them all laugh. As soon as it finished, the three of them enjoyed a cup and sat down to breakfast.

Cindy smiled, watching Daniel and Betty look at one another, then away as their hands touched, grabbing a cinnamon roll. "It's strange, but I can go for days at a time, sometimes lately and honestly not think about Bill, then something silly and simple will remind me of him and it feels like he isn't really gone, he's just in the other room.

I know they say you eventually get over losing a spouse, but…I don't know that you ever really do unless you find someone else. If I were younger perhaps when Bill died, I might meet someone else, I suppose. He used to tease me when we were younger and say if he went first he'd haunt me until I did find another soul mate, and play matchmaker for me."

Daniel couldn't help thinking how Molly had done the same thing to him before she died. In fact, she had left him a letter, which he found a few days after he and Betty had gone through her things that told him she thought he should ask Betty out after her death, that she saw a bond there between them.

He had never told Betty about finding the letter, not knowing how she would take it. He had shrugged it off at the time, dismissing it simply as Molly's weird pre-occupation with making sure he had another woman to 'take care of him' after she died.

But now, hearing Cindy mirror those same feelings, he nodded, "Yeah, my uh…first wife died of cancer and she actually left me a letter telling me she thought Betty and I belonged together."

Betty turned to him, still chewing the roll, and almost choked, upon hearing him. She quickly took a drink and looked up at him, "Really? You never told me that, Daniel. Molly thought we…belonged together. She said that?"

He nodded, sipping his coffee, and meeting her somewhat shocked gaze. "Yeah. She did. I never told you, because I thought it would freak you out. But, she said she saw a bond between us that she envied and felt like you were the only one that would ever truly make me happy after she was gone. She even told me all these silly things that girls like for me to try and 'court you'."

"Hmmm…really? That's so weird."

Cindy smiled, "Well, I guess you either took your first wife's advice, or just figured it out on your own, huh, Daniel?"

"What's that?" he was still watching Betty's reaction.

"On how to court Betty. So, how did you do that?"

He shrugged, "I've known Betty for four years. I watched how she is with guys. She always settled for guys she was too good for, so I knew I had a shot. She's too nice, sometimes. She was always rescuing me. So, I decided I would try to show her how sweet, and beautiful, and amazing she is in a lot of little ways, by doing things I knew she liked, like taking her out dancing, which she loves and is a lot better than me at, and singing karaoke, which she also loves, but I'm better than she is at, and cooking lessons, which we both sucked at.

Then, I uh…took her for a carriage ride through Central Park, and I got down on one knee at Tavern on the Green, which I know she loves, and she said yes."

Betty was as transfixed as Cindy, hearing Daniel's little version of their make-believe courtship and proposal. She was somewhat surprised that he knew so much about what she liked. She honestly didn't think he had paid attention as much as he apparently had been all this time.

After Cindy had called for the tow trucks to pick up both of their cars, she went outside to show them the work that needed to be done in the yard.

Daniel first picked up the bags of mulch and spread it around the flower beds, while Betty started pulling weeds. She had to admit, she was enjoying watching him lift up the large bags on his shoulders.

Soon, they were both happily working together, and after a while, as Daniel was pushing the mower around, Betty came out to give him some lemonade Cindy had made for them, but got lost watching him working and…sweating.

She saw him look up and smile at her. Then as he came a little closer, she pulled out the hose and sprayed him, soaking him thoroughly. After his initial shock wore off, he ran after her, and grabbed the hose away from her, soaking her shirt, as well.

He continued to chase her around the yard, finally grabbing her, and tackling her to the ground, and stuffing leaves all over her. They were both laughing so hard, they could barely breathe.

Betty looked up at Daniel and put her hand on his cheek, "Did I hurt you last night?"

He shook his head, as he lay, slightly on top of her, with his arms around her waist, "I'll live. Especially since I got the next best thing to seeing you topless. A wet white shirt works almost as well." He grinned, looking down at her.

She laughed, "I guess so. I uh…like your shirt, too." She ran her hand across his arm. "Manual labor suits you, Daniel. You look...manly."

He raised one eyebrow. "Are you coming onto me, _now_, Betty?"

She smiled shyly at him, "What would you do if I was?"

"This." He bent his head down to kiss her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!"_

_A/N: Glad a few of you at least (I know I have many 'silent' readers who choose not to review.) are enjoying this little puff piece. I have to be honest; I was __**greatly **__inspired by the pic of Danny-dear in that shirt….uuuuuuh, yeah. Can you say HOT?_

* * *

After a very passionate kiss, Daniel looked down at Betty, and smiled. He held her face in both hands, and laughed, "I think you're a very dirty girl right now, Betty."

She looked at him, questioningly, "What do you mean? You started it; saying you could see through my blouse, and then you were all hot and sweaty and…all I did was say you looked uh, manly. You're the one who kissed me. Again.

You mean, just because I DIDN'T slap you this time; that makes _me _dirty? Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black, Daniel? I mean, at least I don't have a whole website devoted to how good at sex I am."

He rolled his eyes, still smiling, "Are you done?"

She seemed to have run out of breath. "I guess so."

"Look at us both, Betty. We have mud all over us. That's all I meant."

"Oh." She blushed. "Sorry."

He laughed, "It's okay. You know, if you're jealous about it, maybe I could start a website for you, too, Betty. Of course…in the interest of honesty, I suppose we'd actually have to have sex in order for me to rate how good you were accurately."

She hit his arm, "Very funny, Daniel. Let's not get all carried away here, just because we're playing make believe. You know what they say; a kiss is just a kiss. Wow, we really are a mess, though, aren't we?" she turned off the water after hosing the mud off herself and Daniel quickly.

They finished putting away their supplies and stood on the porch, dripping wet. Cindy heard them and came to the door, laughing when she saw them. "Well, well, what happened here? Did it start pouring down rain and I didn't hear it? What in the world have you been up to?"

Betty smiled, "It was my fault. I squirted Daniel with the hose and he sort of got me back. We kind of were playing in the dirt, I'm afraid. Do you have some towels so we don't make a big mess in your house?"

She smiled, "Of course, dear. Hang on. It looks like you both had fun."

Daniel stood just inside the door, keeping his distance. Betty sat, shivering on the porch swing.

She looked up at him, "Are you mad at me?"

He shook his head, "No. Why would I be?" He came and started rubbing her arms to warm her.

"Because of all that stuff I said earlier."

"You mean about the website? I don't care about that. Or you mean…the kiss?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you're right, I guess. A kiss doesn't always mean anything. Sometimes, it's just a reason to get slapped. A kiss IS just a kiss, except when it's the first real one you've had with someone after having known them for four years where you looked each other in the eyes and honest-to-God really good and kissed the other in all that time. Then, I'd say it does mean a _lot_, actually, Betty. At least, it did to me."

She looked up at him, seeing something in his eyes she wasn't really sure of and it scared her. "It…did to me, too. Is this what you do to women, Daniel?"

"What? What are you talking about, Betty? Is _what_ what I do to women? I don't follow you."

"This. Making them all feel like you…want them. Is this your little voodoo you do so well? Because if it is, I don't think I like it. It scares me. Mainly, because I don't like feeling like a number. I felt that way with Matt, too. I don't enjoy being some kind of a lemming. I've always been my own person and I'm okay with _not _fitting in. I don't like being part of the crowd. I actually like being unique. Especially when it comes to my…uh love life."

He took a deep breath. "I think I get what you're saying, Betty. I don't know what you mean about the 'voodoo that I do' or whatever, really, but I know you are very unique. You always have been. I don't claim to know about Matt, but…he and I have both slept around a lot, if that's what you're talking about.

That's where the similarities between he and I end, though. I think he's the biggest idiot in the world. Because if I had your…love, like he did, there's no way in hell I would have run off to Africa like that to build bridges or whatever and left you here, thinking you're not worth staying for.

If I were in his shoes, I would have stayed with you. Personally, though, I'm glad he left. Really glad. You're way too good for him. You're way too good for stupid Grubstick, too. You always were. And I know you're absolutely too good for me, but…I'm sort of glad you go for guys that are beneath you, Betty. Otherwise, I wouldn't have a shot. And I guess I'm hoping you'll give me one here."

She drew a sharp breath. So, this was what it was like to be caught in Daniel's little net, when he poured on the charm, Betty thought. She wasn't sure what to do. She'd never had a man like Daniel _try _to charm her.

Matt's initial pursuit of her when they both were In YETI had left her somewhat surprised, as well. But that was different: he was a total stranger. She and Daniel had history. If they became involved now, it would mean a very serious change in their relationship.

It was exhilarating, and literally took her breath away, but…with him, the way she knew him, it also frightened her, thinking of the possible repercussions if she gave in to his flirtations right now. But, just the fact that he was obviously flirting, had her head reeling. Her heart was thumping a mile a minute.

"Daniel, I…"

Cindy showed up with two large towels to dry them off, "Here you go, you wet little lovebirds. I suppose you'll be wanting to get in the shower and warm up after all that. The yard looks wonderful. Thank you so much for all your hard work! It's a tad muddy, but still lovely.

By the way, Herb called and said he was sending one of his men to come give us all a ride to his shop to 'talk' to us each about our cars and what's wrong with them. Sounds serious, I'm afraid. They should be here in an hour to pick us up."

They headed upstairs, both afraid to speak, not sure what to say to the other. When they got to the bedroom, Daniel was quiet and reflective. He nodded for Betty to take her shower first, while he waited in the bedroom. Cindy had found a dress she thought might fit Betty.

She had also found a pair of jeans, a simple black tee shirt and a well-worn leather bomber jacket that Daniel thought was pretty cool looking.

Betty came out, smiling demurely. Daniel was speechless. He was clearly overcome by the way the dress highlighted her best feature. "You look like a movie star from the fifties or something, Betty. Very Marilyn, or who was that other one, oh yeah, Jayne Mansfield."

"Jayne Mansfield? Oh, right. Because of my…" she looked down.

"Well, you look great. That dress is really awesome on you, Betty. Very retro. I think I'm supposed to have the James Dean look here, myself. I like the jacket a lot. It's pretty cool. Vintage stuff. I guess this must have been Bill's."

He had already stripped out of his wet clothes and stood just with the towel around his waist. He took her by her arms, and looked at her, "What were you going to tell me earlier when Cindy came to the porch, Betty?"

"Oh, I…guess I was just going to ask if you were serious about what you said. About thinking Matt was stupid for leaving me and um…saying you, you…you know."

"Wanted a shot? Yeah. Of course I'm serious, Betty. I've never been more serious in my life. You know me. I don't really chase women. Not to sound cocky, but usually they chase me. I've been sort of lazy, though, because the models I've been with haven't normally been the type to challenge me.

Not to say they were all well, dumb, but as you know, Trista wasn't the only one that made me seem smart. I know you won't make things easy for me. I know I'm going to have to work to get you and that if I am lucky enough to win you over, you'll always keep me on my toes, because that's our thing. You challenge me, and I like that about you, Betty.

I don't want some girl who's going to 'jump into bed' with me. I want you to make me work for it. I actually like that I'm going to have to win your heart.

I need that. I need you. Not to sound all Jack Nickleson here, but you make me a better man. You always have. I'm already a way better person since I met you four years ago. And that's just with being your friend. Imagine what you could do with me if I'm your boyfriend?"

He gave her a meaningful look, but she hesitated to encourage him, "I think you'd better take your shower and get some clothes on, Daniel. Remember our little agreement about no kissing in bed? I'm going to extend that to no kissing when one of us is uh…topless. It would be way too tempting for me to molest you right now, wearing that towel." She moved her hand away from his bare chest.

He looked down, smiling, "Well, hey, if you're ever topless around me, I give you no such guarantees, Betty. I'm coming at you full force if that's the case, believe me. You topless would make my head spin, that's for sure!"

She smiled, somewhat flirtatiously, he thought, "What happened to your confidence, Daniel? What's all this, 'if ever?' You're saying you don't think you even have a shot at me being topless around you?"

His eyebrows shot up in surprise at her flirting, and he smiled at her confidently now, "Hold on, who said I lacked confidence, Betty? Never say never, right? Believe me; I'll be fantasizing about that one now until I make it happen, that's for sure."

She smiled, but pushed him forcefully towards the bathroom. "Fine, we'll see about that. But, for now, how about you get dressed? I wouldn't want to be tempted to take advantage of you, towel boy."

He turned and smirked at her, "That's really okay, Betty. I wouldn't mind…please, take advantage, go ahead." She shook her head, grinning, as she walked towards the bedroom door.

"I'm not saying 'no', Daniel. Just, let's see how things go, okay? For now, though, take your shower and get some clothes on. I'll see you downstairs."

He nodded, "Good enough. For now, I guess. I'll meet you downstairs."

"Oh, Daniel?"

He stuck his head back out of the bathroom door, "Yeah?"

She smiled shyly at him, "For the record, I uh, really liked that little scenario you told Cindy about how you courted and proposed to me. I'm flattered that you remembered so many things I like. It…sounded nice."

He grinned, "Sure. No problem. You know, Betty, this little trip could actually turn out to be a 'blessing in the skies'. We could use it as a test to see how we like being a couple. As a trial run, you know?"

She giggled, "I guess so."

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. You just said 'blessing in the skies." You know it's actually…"

He laughed, "Yeah, I know it's disguise, Betty. I'm not an idiot. I was just being silly. That was a 'Trista-ism'. Just another reminder to me as to why I want a smart girl like you. 'Irregardless' of the fact that you can be a giant pain in the ass. You're still a pretty damn cute pain in the ass."

A few minutes later, Daniel came bounding down the stairs, smiling and whistling. Both Betty and Cindy looked up at him, sighing. Betty caught the older woman's gaze at Daniel and smiled at her, "I bet seeing Daniel in your husband's outfit makes you think of him, huh?"

Cindy nodded, "Yes. It does. But, I have to admit, your husband is a real looker, Betty. You'd better hold on to him. If I were thirty years younger, I think I'd be tempted to do some flirting myself."

Betty laughed, "Cindy! Excuse me, don't forget, that's my husband you're talking about, now!"

"I know, Betty. Don't you forget it, either! He's a very handsome, very sweet man. And he's obviously crazy about you, dear. Enjoy this time with him. Be happy. Count your blessings. Believe me, I wish I had back the days when Bill and I were both young and in love. I wouldn't have let so many of them go by without cherishing every minute of them."

Betty looked at Daniel as he walked behind her, and put his arms around her waist, whispering in her ear, "Hey, there, wifey. Ready to see about getting our car back on the road?"

She nodded, and turned around to face him. He looked at her, puzzled at first, as she pulled him down for a slow, heated kiss, running her hands through his hair, then holding his face.

Cindy grinned as she left the room. When they finally parted, Daniel leaned his head against hers, "Wow! Not that I'm complaining, but what brought THAT on, Betty? That was…nice."

She rolled her eyes, "Nice? I thought nice was what you said about 'little old ladies'?"

He laughed slightly, but was still somewhat out of breath from her kiss. "Sorry, I meant to say, that was sexy. Very sexy. How do I get you to do it again, though? Tell me what I did to deserve it."

"You're doing fine, Daniel. Just be yourself. I guess we'll just have to see how things go when we get to the hotel."

"Yeah! I'm _definitely_ looking forward to that, _now_!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Lost on the Road**

Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!

_A/N: Sorry, no kisses here, just a BIG 'aha' moment for Betty that will change her whole attitude in the future. Her little chat with Cindy was just the beginning of her eyes being opened to the possibilities. Lots of 'lemony' stuff in the next few chapters once her switch has been flipped on!_

**Chapter 7**

Herb Michaels, an old friend of Cindy's, was the town mechanic and was quite in his element, explaining all the problems with both cars. He was good-naturedly giving Cindy a hard time for not keeping up the maintenance on her car after Bill had passed away.

She teased him back, "Hey, you're the 'godfather' of car maintenance around here, Herb, I'm surprised you didn't send your boys around my place to rough me up for not getting my oil changed."

He rolled his eyes, imitating Brando, "You come into my house and you treat me with disrespect. Go, leave my sight! I do not wish to see you until you listen to my words and keep up your car better!" he laughed, along with Cindy.

Daniel and Betty watched the two, cutting each other up. Herb gave the woman her keys, smiling at her and holding his hand onto them just a tad long, Betty observed.

Daniel looked lost when Herb was trying to explain specifically what the problem was to the car. He asked, "Transmission, could that be effected by someone peeling out in the car suddenly?" he rolled his eyes towards Betty, smiling.

She huffed, knowing he was trying to 'blame her' for the problem when she had sped off in Bobby's car to escape the unwanted date.

Herb shrugged, "Not really. More likely, since the car was used for teaching, it was probably just a lot of people driving it who didn't know how to drive a stick and kept speed shifting and the like. I know the clutch is a goner, too."

Betty hit Daniel's arm, since she had accused him of 'speed shifting'. He frankly wasn't even sure what the term meant, so of course had denied he was doing it himself when he was driving.

After Betty went to talk to Cindy, he leaned forward to Herb, "Hey, listen, I know I'm going to show what an idiot I am here, but what does that mean, anyway? I didn't want to admit in front of my fr…wife that I didn't really know what it was."

"It's when you pop the clutch into the higher gears prematurely. It's common with new students, first learning how to use the clutch correctly. They are nervous about shifting, so they tend to run through the lower gears too quickly to get into fourth and fifth, so they don't have to keep shifting."

Daniel looked guilty, "Oh. Yeah, I think maybe I did do that a little. I live in Manhattan, so I haven't driven in a long time other than my parent's cars out of the city, and they both have automatics. So…"

"You forgot how to shift and were too embarrassed to let your wife drive? I get it. But maybe from here on in, let her drive until you get a little more practice in."

"Do you have a car we could use to drive up to Boston and back, and then we'll just pick this up on our way back down here? Uh, maybe an…automatic?"

Herb smiled, "Yeah, that might be better. I got one you can use, sure."

Once they had gotten Cindy in her car safely, and gotten their loaner car from Herb, they hugged Cindy, "Thanks again for letting us stay with you."

She smiled, "No, thank YOU both for rescuing an old lady in distress and for doing the yard work for me. I don't know what I would have done without you two. You've been a godsend."

Betty smiled, glancing back at Herb, who had been watching Cindy. "I think you have a friend here in town that you could always call if you needed any help."

Cindy narrowed her eyes and followed Betty's gaze, "Who, you mean Herb? That young man is almost twenty years younger than me! Really!"

Betty shrugged, then laughed, "Hey, I caught you checking out my husband and he's a lot younger than Herb. The man was definitely flirting with you. He's not married, is he?"

Cindy blushed, looking at to Herb, who was still stealing glances in their direction. "His wife left him five years ago to run off to the city. Herb's like me, he grew up out here and he loves it. He's got his business."

Daniel smiled, "Betty's right, the guy's been checking YOU out. And the Brando thing? He was totally showing off. Oh, that reminds me…here." He started to remove the jacket she had leant him, but she shook her head.

"You keep it, Daniel. It'll make me happy knowing it's being used. I have plenty in that house to remind me of Bill as it is."

He nodded, and hugged her, "Thanks. It was nice seeing you…I mean, meeting you. You take care of yourself. You should go ask Herb to have some of your cake."

Betty grinned, "Great idea, Daniel. It's so good, he'll be licking his plate."

She gave him a look, and he whispered, "Or you." Betty smacked his butt lightly.

Once they got in, Daniel offered, "Would you like to drive, _darling?_"

She rolled her eyes, "You drive for now, Daniel. I'll take over once we get into the city, since you don't know how…oh, you got Herb to give us an automatic, I see. Good call. That way, you won't have to admit you don't know how to drive a manual." She giggled.

He bumped her hip, "Shut up. You think you're so smart. You only know how because you wanted to flirt with Bobby and have him give you lessons. I can just imagine you putting your hands on the stick shift, and batting your eyes at him, "Ooh, Bobby! That feels so good when I shift gears."

She laughed, "You're such a moron, Daniel. Was that supposed to be me? I don't talk like that. And I didn't flirt with Bobby when he gave me lessons, okay? It was research for my 'fearless' article.

"Sure, Betty. Just like you were completely professional with that Zacchary guy that I caught you making out with that time."

She threw him back the keys, and they got back on the road. Daniel 'peeled out' and gave it the gas. Betty shook her head, "I get it, Bobby's car was the problem, not you, Daniel. You're such a child, sometimes."

He put his arm around her, and whispered, "Hey, what happened to kissy Betty? I thought you were all into me for a while there. I told you to tell me what it was I was doing right to get you all hot and bothered like that. I want that Betty back. Not us fighting. Although, even fighting with you is hot."

She looked at his arm around her. It did feel nice, she had to admit. And she thought of Cindy's words, not to take time with someone you love for granted. Then again, Cindy thought they were married, but of course they weren't.

She shifted somewhat uncomfortably in his embrace, and he seemed to sense her ambivalence, dropping his arm, and glancing at her, "Everything okay, Betty? You seem uh…pensive."

She smiled, and leaned towards him, whispering, "Pensive, huh? I see Trista didn't completely rot out your brain cells with her influence. That's good, Daniel. Keep up that 'Hah-vahd' vocabulary. You want us to look like the power couple at your re-union, right? In front of what's her name, again?"

"Not just HER, Betty, I told you, that whole little preppy group of morons in my fraternity. Them and their stuck-up moms."

"I still don't understand WHY you even care, though, Daniel. That was fifteen years ago. You said you never see these people anymore. So, why do you care what they think?

If I got upset about people in high school and how they treated me, I'd be learning telekinesis and going all Carrie on their asses for locking me in lockers and all kinds of stuff like with Kimmie Keegan and that whole Granny pants nightmare. It was a long time ago. Get over it."

He laughed, "Carrie, huh? I never figured you for the revenge type. I _don't_ really care, Betty. It's more for my mom's dignity than mine. I know these stupid women used to torture her about everything.

She is doing great staying sober and she somehow managed to rise above the whole thing with Alexis. But, I just hate that I was a big cause of her getting shit from these women over my stupid 'bad boy' behavior, too.

I don't know, I just think it would give her so much satisfaction to rub it in their faces that her former drunken, womanizing son had finally straightened up and gotten all respectable. She made up this big lie that you and I met at work and got married. Oh, and you're pregnant. About three months, of course, so you're not showing yet.

I know, it's stupid, I just thought if you and I showed up at this damn re-union and backed up her story it would make her feel vindicated a little. I figure I owe her that much after all Alexis and I put her through over the years. I mean, she wasn't a perfect mom, sure, but I didn't help her much."

Betty leaned against him, hooking his arm, and he looked down, smiling at her when she did, "You are a really great son, Daniel. She loves you a lot, too, I know."

Betty leaned against Daniel again, and he put his arm around her once more, slowly. She turned and smiled at him.

It was only for a split second, but unfortunately, it was long enough for a deer to come bounding out from a wooded area, and as Daniel swerved to avoid the creature, they went careening down into a ditch, and into a tree. "SHIT! Oh, my God, that damn deer came out of nowhere!

Betty, are you alright? I'm so sorry. I just looked and there he was, I was scared to death I was going to hit the stupid thing, but…SHIT! Are you sure you're okay?"

She laughed, "I'm fine. That's more than I can say for Herb's car, though. We definitely aren't making very good time at this rate. Are you getting a signal at all so we can call him to get a tow back? We're only about…oh, wow, I guess it's been almost fifty-five miles. Probably not closer to go back to his shop now. I could see if the nav thing is working on…"

"Don't bother, Betty. There is no navigation system on this car of Herb's. It's older and it didn't come with one. It's walking for us, to the nearest town, thanks to Bambi there. Stupid deer! My heart's still pounding a mile a minute."

She hooked arms with him, "Well, I guess we walk, then. I still have the good old map here, and it looks like there's a town about three miles further south, just off this state road eighteen, see? If we follow the signs, we should be there before two thirty, maybe.

We can send a tow truck back for this car and see what kind of damage you and Bambi and the tree did and if it's fixable. We planned an extra day and a half into our schedule, Daniel. So, we're still okay."

He shook his head, "How do you do that? Always find the silver lining like that, Betty. I've known you for all these years, and it still amazes me how upbeat and positive you constantly manage to be. I've had all these advantages you never did growing up and you make me feel like a grumpy old man sometimes in comparison to you. It's sort of annoying." He teased.

She grinned, "Sorry. I guess I got it from my mom. She was always pretty positive. You know, until…the end. But, even then. She told Hilda and I to keep looking for our un amor verdadero, our one true love, like she and papi had. She told us that once we found him, nothing else could ever be that bad. Papi made her feel loved and that was more important than anything else in the world, she said." She smiled, but Daniel saw her eyes glisten slightly as she did.

He put his arm around her, then hugged her, "You don't talk about your mom much, Betty. I know how much you must miss her, though. Your necklace is sort of your touchstone to her, right?" She fingered her B necklace, "Yeah. Sort of. I do miss her so much. I wish she could have met you. She'd like you, Daniel." She laughed softly, "Well, probably not at first. She wouldn't have liked the way you used to act. But how you are now; she'd see what a good man you've become. How kind and gentle and thoughtful…" she looked into his eyes as he held her.

"Keep going. Don't stop, Betty You were on a roll." He looked down at her, smiling as he held her by her arms. "What amazing blue eyes you have. I don't think I ever let myself…really get lost in them before. But they're sort of…hypnotic. No wonder girls…" she found herself at a loss for words as he held her close like this.

She had allowed herself to gaze deeply into the abyss of Daniel's eyes, she thought, in somewhat of a panic, now, thinking how many girls before her had gotten lost in those eyes, never to be seen or heard from again.

He grinned, and Betty became suddenly aware of how boyishly handsome Daniel really was. Not that she hadn't noticed before, of course, but she had never let it affect her so much. Now, it seemed she was finally acknowledging how incredible the man was, and that was just his looks! She, more than anyone also knew what a kind, funny, thoughtful guy he really, truly was inside, too.

She seriously thought she might lose it, as she came to that realization. But out here, now? What a time to get a freaking clue exactly how hot and wonderful your best friend/former boss/possible future boyfriend/pretend husband/hopeful future ...'lovah' was! Out in the middle of nowhere, without a soul around or more importantly a bed anywhere in sight!


	8. Chapter 8

**Lost on the Road**

**Chapter 8**

Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!

As they strolled into the small town, Betty looked over at Daniel. She knew that as far as he could tell, nothing had really changed between them. But inside, her mind was racing, and she felt like she might hyperventilate, trying to decide how she was going to handle her rapidly shifting feelings towards him.

He grabbed her hand, and looked at her with concern, "Hey, you've been awfully quiet the whole way here, Betty. You sure you're okay? You didn't get hurt in the car, did you? I can't wait to tell Herb what I did to his car! I hope that whole 'Godfather' thing was just a joke. I don't want to wake up with a horse's head in my bed or something!"

Betty laughed, but the minute he had taken her hand, she felt lightheaded. She excused herself to use the ladies room while Daniel tried to find them other transportation. She took out her phone.

"Hilda? It's me. I'm on the road with Daniel. We're on our way to Harvard. I…have a question. You can't laugh, though. And promise me, no judgments, okay?"

"Let me guess, you two finally had sex."

"No. But…I want to."

"Well, I guess I'm supposed to act surprised or something, but honestly, it's more like, it's about time! And what took you so long? You two looked like the perfect couple at my wedding, Betty. Everybody said so. I don't know how many people asked if you were next."

She giggled nervously, "Really? Daniel and me? That's so weird."

"Well, if you're talking to me about it, I guess it's not THAT weird, now is it, Betty?"

"I guess not."

"So, what's your question?"

"I don't really know how to…you know."

"Betty, you're hardly a virgin. Don't tell me it's been so long you forgot how."

"Not THAT! I mean, I don't know how to let him know I want him."

"Well, let's see, you could always just tell him. Guys like that."

"They do? I don't know. That doesn't seem very sexy, just come right out and say, Daniel, I want to…have sex?"

"Well, you could always send him a dozen roses, some chocolates, and write him love poems, but, yeah, what's wrong with that? I mean, first, kiss the guy in a way that lets him know you want him. If that doesn't work, start taking your clothes off maybe. Or take his off. Take both off. He'll figure it out once you're both standing there, or lying there naked. Believe me, with Daniel, I really don't think it's going to be all that hard. Well, then again…."she laughed.

Betty was too freaked out to even be annoyed by her sister joking at her expense. She felt even more flustered than she had when she was willing to go to Amanda and Marc to get Matt's attention.

But Hilda was right. This was Daniel Meade she was talking about. He wasn't going to need hand signals from a baseball coach to wave him into home. Plus, he HAD been coming on to her the whole trip. Surely, he would be glad Betty had changed her mind and that would make things much easier.

She hastily agreed with Hilda's suggestions, "I guess so. I mean, that does definitely get the point across, alright."

"You'll be fine. Have a good time. I'm sure after all the practice he's had over the years; the man knows what he's doing."

"Not helping, Hilda. That's just it, he has had a LOT more practice than I have, you know? And with supermodels, actresses, all that. Women a lot more beautiful than me. It's sort of intimidating."

"Well, he isn't pining over any of them, though, is he? Daniel may be a hottie, but he's still a man. A nice man who cares deeply about you. Besides, you've definitely got your own assets. Just highlight them for once and don't be such a prude."

"I'm NOT a prude, Hilda! Just because I don't flaunt it, sticking my boobs in guys' faces all the time."

"Okay, let's not be mean, Betty. You called me, asking for help, remember?"

"You're right. I'm sorry. I guess he did act like he liked the low cut dress I'm wearing."

"You got a low cut dress? That's a first. Although, I have noticed you dressing a lot better lately. Still not my style, but we all know I like to stick my boobs in guys' faces."

"I said I was sorry. Can we focus, please? Anyway, this lady we stayed with last night lent me her dress and it's a little low cut, well a LOT low cut actually. And he really seemed to…like it."

"Well, no surprise there. You know Daniel's a boob man. I've also definitely caught him checking out your ass, so…you've got that going for you, being a nice curvy, Latina lady. It's no wonder, he's probably craving some curves after all those stick figure Barbie dolls at Mode."

"I guess so. So, I'll….what? Walk around sticking my boobs out and…shaking my butt or something? I don't really know how to do that, Hilda. I'm not…like that."

"Oh, for goodness sakes, Betty. You had Matt chasing after you, didn't you? Stop selling yourself short. You know how to act sexy. You like all those old movies Justin likes, think…Liz Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, act like one of those movie stars you like."

"Oh, he did say he thought I looked like Marilyn or…no, then he changed it to Jayne Mansfield."

"Jayne Mansfield? Oh, okay, well NOW we definitely know Daniel's a boob man. Poor lady, that's about all she was known for, was her great uh…assets up top. Which you have in spades, girl. So, yeah, if you've got em' flaunt em. Hell, those twig girls pay big money to have what nature blessed you with, girl. Just remember, Betty. He asked you."

Betty frowned, "Well, he did say he liked that I was making him 'work for it' and that I wouldn't just jump into his bed. But, wait, isn't that what I'm doing now? Am I making things too easy for him? Won't he lose all respect for me now? If I give in so quickly, he's going to be a typical guy and lose interest."

"Look, I'm not saying, go kiss Daniel and whisper in his ear to go have sex…"

"Uh, actually, that's pretty much EXACTLY what you told me to do, Hilda! God, now I'm even more confused!

Hilda, I already started babbling earlier, after we almost hit the deer and told him what amazing blue eyes he had. I sounded like an idiot!"

"You said that?"

"I was sort of out of it, but…yeah. Well, they are amazing."

"Well, I guess, but, Betty! You said, 'Daniel, what amazing blue eyes you have? What are you, little red riding hood or something? Hey, you guys hit a deer? You're okay? What happened to Bobby's car?"

"Bobby's car blew its transmission last night. So, we had to leave it back in the shop, waiting for parts, and Daniel was driving a loaner car that we hit the tree trying to avoid hitting the deer, actually."

"Wow! Bobby's going to be pissed about his car. He uses that car for teaching, you know."

"I know. The car needed a new transmission, Hilda. Daniel's paying for it. Bobby should be grateful we happened to be driving it when it went out and that it wasn't one of his students driving it at the time."

"Daniel was driving Bobby's car when the transmission went out, too? Man, he's bad luck behind the wheel!"

"Well, he had been driving, but actually, I was the one driving when it just lurched forward."

"So, YOU were driving, huh? You sure you weren't driving all crazy, spinning out to get away?"

"Don't start, Hilda! Now you sound like Daniel. I only did that one time, for goodness sakes, and Bobby encouraged me."

"Hey, don't blame my husband for your bad behavior, Betty."

"I'm not the only one who doesn't like the 'safe guys' in the family, Hilda. Hmm…let's see, you're not still with Archie, are you? Who did you just get married to? The safe, boring guy? No! The hot, sexy, dangerous guy with the bad reputation. So, don't lecture me about being attracted to bad boys. Not when you married one."

"You know as well as I do, Bobby's not really a 'bad boy', Betty. He's a very nice guy. He just has a very bad reputation. Which, you're right, I guess, sort of makes him all the sexier!" She giggled.

"Hmmm…you mean like Daniel? He's got a bad reputation as a womanizer, but I know what a nice guy he really is, aside from all that stuff."

"Fine, well, go…jump his bones already, Betty!"

"Well, uh…wish me luck, I guess. Thanks, Hilda."

"No problem, mami. Good luck getting lucky!"

"Very funny." Betty really wasn't in the mood for her sister making fun right now. She was far too nervous.

After a few minutes looking around the town, and not seeing Daniel, Betty saw a bar and decided to check inside. She smiled when she saw him, sitting at the bar, drinking a Scotch.

She quietly sat down on the stool next to him, and before he saw her she leaned and whispered, "Buy a girl a drink, hot stuff?" _Hot stuff? Why the hell did I say that? God, I'm so lame!_

He laughed, _Good, he just thinks I'm being silly, making a joke. Which I was, of course! He was joking when he said it to me, so he actually thinks I'm being clever and not just a dork, like I am!_

"Sure, white wine?" she nodded and Daniel ordered her drink. When she was served he clinked his glass with hers.

"So? What's the prognosis on the car situation?"

He shook his head, "Well, Herb isn't going to have us whacked or anything, at least he sounded nice and just said the deer around here are a big problem, not to worry, it happens all the time.

He also said it was an older car, that's why he uses it for a loaner. But, since we're so far from his shop, I went to a local service station here to have them tow it here and it's going to be…a while. I hate to do it, but I guess we'll just leave Herb's car here, and I'll pay to have one of the local mechanics take it back to his shop as soon as it's fixed.

In the meantime, I rented us another car. A limo."

"You found a limo service in this small town?" She smiled.

"Turns out we're not really that far from New Haven here. It seems small, but we're actually fairly close to civilization. And I'm done driving for a while. Leave it to the professionals."

She smiled and clinked her glass with his drink, "To the professionals."

He laughed, "So, listen…since we have professional transportation lined up to get the rest of the way there, and it's less than three hours, we have plenty of time to get a fresh start…in the morning? I'm afraid the limo in town is already rented out for tonight. Is that okay? I promise, we'll get separate rooms, Betty." He looked uncertain about her reaction to his suggestion they spend an extra night in a hotel together.

She shrugged, finishing her drink and ordering another. "It's fine. That makes sense. We can just get a fresh start in the morning. Sounds like a good idea, Daniel. I'm done for the day, too. It's been fun, avoiding woodland creatures, and running into trees and all, but…I think I'm ready for a nice, hot bath and lots of wine and to turn in early, I guess."

He nodded, looking at her sideways. "Yeah, of course, if you get a second wind, they do have…a little dance place here, down the street, I noticed. It might uh…help for us to brush up on our dancing together. You know, just so we look the part of an old married couple. I know we danced together all night at Hilda's wedding and it was a lot of fun, but I figure, the more practice we get together, the more believable we'll be, right?"

She smiled, "You want to go dancing? With me?"

He furrowed his brows, "Sure. Why not?"

She bit her bottom lip, and excused herself, he called out, "Hey, where are you going?"

"Shopping. If we're going dancing, I need a different dress. I don't want to wear the same one I brought for the re-union. I might…sweat in it. See if you can find us a room and I'll meet you later."

"Okay…" he laughed at her rushing off. He wondered if she had meant to say room_s. _She didn't' though. He could play dumb if she got upset and say' "Hey, Betty, you said ROOM, singular. So, I just did what you asked." He shook his head, finishing his drink and asked the bartender how close the nearest hotel was.

"There's Cobb's Mill. That's really the only one actually IN Weston, I'm afraid. And they're sort of more a B & B. I can call you a cab, if you like."

"Thanks. That sounds fine. I'll be back in about… well, my uh…wife went shopping to get a dress. I'm not sure how long that will take her."

The bartender shook his head, "I'll tell him to wait an hour. That sounds about right."

"An hour? Well, okay, I guess so. Thanks. We'll be back then. Appreciate it." Daniel left a tip and went to find Betty.

After a few minutes, he saw a boutique and went inside. The forties-something woman who owned the shop eyed him and smiled, Daniel couldn't decide if she was being flirtatious, or just a good salesperson. "Well, hello there, handsome! What brings you here today? Naughty lingerie for a lady friend, perhaps?"

Daniel shook his head, "Actually, I'm looking for a woman who might have come in here, uh…my wife. She's short, long dark hair, glasses. Uh…Betty! There you…Betty?"

Betty stepped out from the fitting room, wearing an extremely revealing, red chiffon dress. It was very low cut, and she twirled around as she stepped out, "This is perfect for dancing…oh, DANIEL! Hey! I didn't know you'd be done so soon. I just got here a little while ago. I…Daniel? What's wrong?"

He was clearly shocked to see her wearing something that showed off her figure so well. Without taking his eyes off Betty, he handed the shop owner his credit card, "We'll take it. Do you have it in any other colors?"

The woman smiled, taking Daniel's card to go process his purchase, "I'll check. Look around, take your time. We have lots of honeymoon lingerie, as well that you might want to take a look at."

Daniel seemed incapable of speech. He tugged at his shirt collar, "Uh…wow! Betty, you look…WOW!"

She smiled and blushed, looking down at the dress as best she could, without her glasses. Her hair got caught in the zipper, "Ow!"

"What's wrong?"

She started trying to get it out, but couldn't reach. "My, hair is stuck in the zipper, I think. It really hurts. Can you…reach it for me, Daniel? I can't really see without my glasses, but mainly I can't reach back there." She had been trying to get to it, to no avail.

"Sure." He stood behind her and tried to untangle her hair carefully. The only thing he could think to do was to unzip her dress. As he did, she let out a slight gasp, as his hot breath hit her shoulder.

"Oh…" He reached down her bare back and managed to get her hair out, then placed it back over her shoulder, but as he did, while standing behind her, his hand brushed against her breast in the front. "Sorry. I…didn't mean to…do that."

She turned around to face him and smiled slightly when she realized they were both blushing. "You didn't? Too bad."

He raised his eyebrows, "Huh?" When he caught her meaning, he smiled slightly, "Really?" She smiled shyly back at him, nodding as she placed her hands on his chest, sliding them across, and feeling his muscles under the well-fitting tee shirt, under his jacket.

She looked at that great chest of his and back up, somewhat breathlessly, "Yes, Daniel. Really. So…did you find us a _**room**_?" she slowly rose her eyes to meet his and this time, he was sure the way she emphasized room, it was absolutely singular on purpose.

His heart started beating wildly out of his chest, and he nodded, unable to speak. He could hardly believe it, but it seemed like she was finally on board with this. Now, HE was nervous!

_A/N: Sorry, I really didn't mean to do that! (Well, maybe I did, a little bit LOL!) I just got lost in Daniel's eyes, I guess. I promise, I'll get the next chapter up ASAP! (don't want to leave Daniel and Betty or you hanging!)_


	9. Chapter 9

**Lost on the Road**

**Chapter 9**

Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!

Daniel insisted on buying several dresses for Betty a well as some very risqué lingerie, so they took a while to finish their purchases at the boutique. He grabbed her hand as they left, looking down at her somewhat like a kid who just talked his parents into buying his favorite toy.

Betty tried to keep her heart rate steady. She and Daniel were loaded with bags. "Daniel, I think you bought out half the store. You're sweet, but I told you you didn't have to buy all this stuff for me."

He smirked, "Oh, I didn't, Betty. I bought it for me."

She smiled, biting her lower lip, and lowering her eyes, then looking back up at him, somewhat flirtatiously. "You did?"

He put his arm around her and whispered, "Uh, yeah, and maybe you could try some of it on for me later, please?"

She grinned, "Since you asked so nicely, I guess I could do that. Thanks for the wardrobe, Daniel. I don't know where I'm going to wear three dresses in the same style but different colors and all that sexy lingerie, but…they're all really pretty."

"I know where you can wear the lingerie for sure. But you might not make it out to wear any dresses tonight, I'm afraid. I was thinking I'll just order us some room service and stay in. We can go dancing some other time. If that's okay with you?"

She nodded, "We'll have plenty of time for dancing at the re-union tomorrow."

"So…you're okay with us…staying in tonight? You're sure?"

She squeezed his hand, "I'm sure, Daniel."

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that." He dropped the bags he was holding onto the sidewalk and reached down to pull her up for a very heated kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Betty was completely taken off guard at first, but she very quickly gave in to him and slid her hands under his jacket, and around his back. She could sense his need to be alone with her, partially because she was feeling it just as strongly. It was as if all those years of getting to know one another, and becoming best friends were all building to their feelings of intense desire for each other.

They only parted when a car horn beeped at them and a cab driver put down his window, "Hey, are you Mr. and Mrs. Meade?" They looked at each other and smiled, Daniel called back, "Yeah, that's us. We're the Meades. Did Dave from the bar send you to pick us up?"

"Yep. I stopped by and got your luggage out from the rental car like you told him. I see you got more stuff, huh? You two sure don't travel light, do you? So, Cobbs Mill then, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. Thanks."

Betty looked at him as he helped her into the back. "Cobbs Mill. That sounds so familiar to me. I know I've heard of it."

"Well, they're pretty well known around here for the restaurant, I think. The place might be closing, though. They are trying to rezone it to become a B&B, too, to keep afloat. There's a really pretty waterfall and bridge you can watch from the porch if it's not too chilly out. We can go out there and eat first, if you want. I guess I can feed you…if you're really hungry. But eat fast. Cause, I'm uh…hungry for well, you." They both laughed.

"Wow, that sounded really corny, didn't it?" he shook his head, "Sorry. You know what I mean, Betty."

She was somewhat surprised that he seemed so tongue tied, but found it very endearing and incredibly sweet.

She blushed, and looked down as he made small circles with his thumb on the back of her hand. "I think I can break that code, yeah, Daniel. And please, don't worry about sounding corny. I…have to admit, I'm pretty goofy when it comes to stuff like this.

I just hope I'm not a big disappointment to you. I mean, you've been with all those models and…" he put two fingers up to her lips, and whispered, against them,

"None of them hold a candle to you, Betty. And I don't care if that sounds corny, too. It's absolutely true. You're the most amazing woman I've ever met. You're a pain in the ass sometimes, but…"

She rolled her eyes, smiling, her cheeks bright red, "Now I know I've made you watch Titanic too many times with me, Daniel. Not to call you on line stealing, because you probably didn't realize where you heard it even, but that sort of sounded like what Jack tells Rose."

He shook his head and kissed her neck, "I knew dating a smart girl like you was going to be trouble. You're going to call me on everything, aren't you?"

She was feeling very flushed at his kisses and noticed the cab driver grinning at them in his mirror. She giggled softly and whispered, "Daniel…stop…you're kind of steaming up my glasses."

He took them off, dropping them into her bag, "Good. That means I'm doing something right. Besides, you look so hot without them, Betty. I love seeing more of your face. God, you're really beautiful, you know that?"

He kissed her cheeks and her eyelids, and held her face in his hands, looking down at her, "You and I are going to have so much fun tonight. I can't wait to get you alone. How about we just skip dinner and wait for breakfast…in bed?"

She just nodded, pulling him closer to deepen their kiss. They were getting more passionate and grabbing one another for several minutes, until they suddenly realized the car had stopped.

Daniel straightened his hair, which was a mess and cleared his throat, "Oh, are we here already?"

"Been here for almost ten minutes, sir, I was just waiting to see how far you two were going to go. I hated to interrupt such an obvious pair of newlyweds." He winked at Daniel.

Betty was trying to fix her dress after Daniel had pulled it down at the top and pushed it up at the bottom. She was extremely flustered, having never gone so far in a cab (or anywhere in public) like that before. But, she had to admit, making out with Daniel was definitely fun.

They got out and Betty's eyes didn't know where to look first, "Wow, this place is beautiful, Daniel! You've been here before?"

He shrugged, "Yeah, years ago. It's been a restaurant for a long time. I think it's been around since the late twenties or something. I'm pretty sure I came here with my mom and some of her friends. I can't remember if Alex was with us or not."

They got checked in and the desk clerk chatted on excitedly about a reading of the excerpts from some book, based on the mill's former owner, who had evidently entertained Bette Davis there, back in the eighties, during a hotel strike in New York.

It seemed the star at one time had lived not far away, in Westport and ended up spending a month at Cobb's Mill with the former owner and her family (Elizabeth Fuller, a huge fan of the icon) during the strike. Mrs. Fuller later wrote a book, based on her time with the legend, "Me and Jezabel".

As the clerk finished telling them about the hotel's Hollywood historical connections, Betty's eyes lit up, "Of course, I read an article about that. No wonder this place sounded so familiar! Oh, Daniel, would it be okay if we…came back downstairs and listened to the reading for a while, like after dinner. Just for a tiny little bit?"

He smiled, thinking she sounded like a little girl, asking his permission, "Well, yeah, sure, Betty, but…you know, what about what we were talking about before? You know, staying…in?"

She looked up at him, with pitiful eyes, "I'll eat quickly. And…listen really quickly. Then…we can run back upstairs."

He rolled his eyes, "And take our time the rest of the night. Right? We don't need to do that quickly."

She nodded, "Definitely. Some things aren't nearly as much fun unless you take your time." She held his arms, thinking she couldn't wait to see them again, underneath that jacket.

She grabbed his hand, and he looked down at it and smiled, then put it up to his lips and kissed it. "Maybe we should…work up our appetites before dinner, too, don't you think?"

She nodded, and as they slowly climbed the stairs, she had to mentally remind herself to breathe, then let out her breath every so often. Otherwise, she seriously feared she might pass out. God, he was so unbelievably hot, and staring at her like she was so beautiful. She had honestly never in a million years let herself imagine what it would be like to be with this man.

Well, okay that was a total lie, but she had always tried really hard to tell herself it was NEVER going to happen with her and Daniel, he was just too hot, and way out of her league, so…she had pretended it didn't matter. He was her friend, period, end of story and that was fine with her. But now…oh dear God, the man was looking at her like Betty looked at doughnuts or ice cream!

They stopped outside the room, and as he struggled with the key, Betty took it from his hands and said quietly, "Here, let me try." She was amazed to notice that Daniel's hands were shaking slightly.

She smiled at him and as she slid the key in, and opened the door, "Are you as…nervous as I am? Or is it just me?"

He nodded, "Oh, no. I know you probably don't believe this, because of my uh…past, but it's well, it's us, Betty, so, of course, I'm nervous. We've been friends a long time. I don't want to mess that up.

And I know sex changes things, but...why does that always mean it has to change things for the worse? Why can't it just make things that are already really great even more incredible? Like off the charts great. But, I guess the real reason I'm so scared is…now don't laugh, Betty.

"I promise I won't." He had brought in their bags and they stood in the doorway just inside their room. He leaned one hand above her against the frame. She had her hands behind her and looked up at him, trying to calm her nerves.

"I guess I'm a little intimidated by that stupid website you told me about for one thing. I've been afraid to go on it and see what those women wrote about me."  
"Believe me, Daniel it was all complimentary. Very much so, in fact."

She could swear, she saw him blush again. She had never seen the man blush before in the whole four years she had known him.

"That's another thing, Betty. That's great and all, but…how am I supposed to live up to that, now? I mean, I'm not some total sex expert or something. Yeah, I've been around but, I'm just a guy. I don't know secret Hindu orgasmic tantric yoga positions or anything. Look, I don't know what you've got built up in your mind about me, Betty, but…"

She honestly couldn't have found him more incredibly sexy than she did right now, seeing this vulnerable side to him. She smiled, and pulled him down to her and kissed him, taking off his jacket and letting it fall to the floor. He pulled away, "Betty? What are you doing?"

She pulled his shirt off over his head and managed to unzip her dress, and threw it to a nearby chair. She started pushing him backwards, towards the bed, "If you don't know, Daniel. I must be doing this all wrong."

He looked down at her, smirking, "Oh, I think I can crack _your_ code, Betty. And I definitely don't think you're doing anything wrong, believe me."

"Obviously I'm insecure about the type of women you've been with in the past and it seems that you're insecure about how much I might have built you up in my mind. But maybe this is just something we have to work through, like anything else in our relationship. I know it's going to change things, but like you said, it could change them for the better, so…I'm up for it if you are."

He nodded and ran his hand down her arm and leaned down to kiss her neck, "Oh, I'm up for it alright. I'm definitely up for it."

He continued his attack on her neck and carefully slid down the straps of her bra, one at a time. He reached around to unhook the back and seemed to almost gasp at the sight of her naked breasts. His eyes grew wide and he smiled, "You're like one of those Botticelli paintings or something, Betty. You know that? Why would you cover these up like you do? You're unbelievably beautiful." He kissed his way down to her left breast and stroked her gently, then lowered her onto the bed.

He stared at her for a moment, in awe, then ran his hand down the length of her body, sending shivers up to her spine. She felt his responses to her touching his chest and across to his shoulders.

He seemed just as sensitive to Bettys' touch as she was to his. She kissed his chest and stomach, and watched as he sucked in a breath. He seemed surprised that she was interested in watching him so much. He smiled, "You know you're driving me crazy right now, right?"

She looked puzzled, "I'm not really doing anything, I'm just watching you."

"Exactly. You're probably the first woman I've ever been with who seemed genuinely interested in whether or not I was you know, um…enjoying myself. I mean, they did stuff for me, too, but it seemed like they were just doing it to get it over with so I'd take care of them, you know? None of them really seemed to care if I actually got anything out of being with them. Usually, it was all kind of fast and furious."

She raised her eyebrows; seeming genuinely shocked, "Out of all those girls, really? That's kind of sad."

"Tell me about it. I've definitely been with the wrong kind of girls. Until now, anyway."

"Well, then again, Daniel, too many girls, not enough time, right?"

"I know. Maybe I was just going through all those girls to find the right one."

She wasn't buying his 'line', it seemed, however. "I wasn't exactly on Mars, Daniel."

"I know, Betty. I'm sorry. I have no excuse. I was just really stupid and childish, and immature, sorry, I know those are the same thing, and let's see, blind and a complete idiot, and …you know you can stop me anytime here."

She smirked, as she kissed him, "I would, but hey, when you're right, you're right."


	10. Chapter 10

**Lost on the Road**

**Chapter 10**

Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!

"Hmmm…you know, it just occurred to me, Betty. We're really breaking your 'no topless kissing in bed' rule here, aren't we?"

She smiled somewhat shyly up at him, as he held her in his arms, and kissed her, slowly and softly, then deepened the kiss, and rolled slightly on top of her. She ran her arms across his back, and felt him tugging at the new lingerie he had just bought for 'himself'.

She tried to stop herself, but couldn't help it. This was crazy! She was making out, seriously making out, like about ready to actually have sex with Daniel Meade! She couldn't believe it. She tried desperately to stifle the giggles that began somewhere in the back of her throat, but it was no use. She was soon having a laughing fit, and looking at a very frustrated and somewhat shocked Daniel.

"Betty? Uh, are you okay? What's so hilarious? Are you ticklish somewhere I should know about?"

She shook her head, unable to speak for a minute until she composed herself. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I…I believe me, this is no reflection on you, whatsoever. You're very uh, sexy and hot and everything. I'm just kind of freaking out, right now, that's all. I mean, you know, it's sort of weird, it's us, us…doing this, right?

Did you ever in a million years picture… You know what, never mind. Forget I said anything. I really don't think I want to pull that thread. I'm sorry. I do want this. I want you, Daniel. God, you're really cute like this. I just got sort of overwhelmed and when I do, I get the giggles sometimes. It won't happen again, though. I promise."

He looked at her, seeming unconvinced, "O..kkayy. I understand that it's kind of surprising or whatever that we're finally doing this after all this time, maybe, Betty. Do you not want this, though? You've sort of got me freaked out, too, now. I really, really want this, but I also don't want to do anything that's going to make it impossible for us to, you know, stay friends. If you're not ready, please just say so, Betty. You're not going to hurt my feelings or anything. I told you, you're worth waiting for, and I meant it. We can do the whole dating thing first, you know, do it right. I can wait. I might need a few minutes here to uh…get things back under control first, but…"

She kissed his neck, "No, Daniel, really, I do want you. I'm so sorry I did that. I don't know what came over me. I just had a momentary….."

"Lapse of concentration? Still throwing my own lines back at me, huh? Look, Betty, I get it. You're freaked out, because you've still got this whole boss/assistant thing in your head. But you're an editor, now. You're not my assistant anymore, so…it's not the same. We're just friends. Best friends who are very, very attracted to one another, and…you know, ready to take things to the next level. Really, really ready." He grinned, and started attacking her neck, enthusiastically, now. He had started working his way down towards her breast, clearly becoming more excited; thinking things were looking like a go again.

She closed her eyes and tried to just enjoy what Daniel was doing, then had to fight herself from getting the giggles again. She stopped him, pushing him away from her slightly and leaving him somewhat scowling at her, "Uh, yeah? I kind of got on a roll here, Betty. Is anything wrong? You okay?"

She nodded, thinking if she kept interrupting things, they would maybe never feel 'right', and she knew deep inside, she did want Daniel, very much. So, she quickly gave him a wicked smile and shoved him back on the bed. "I was just thinking about what you said before, about the other girls never worrying about whether or not you were enjoying yourself, that's all. I uh…don't want to do that, too. So, why don't you just, you know, relax for a little while, and let me uh…you know...please you for a change? Then, later, you can pay me back. I know you're capable of that."

He caught her meaning and raised his eyebrows, "You're sure? You uh…don't mind?"

He was a little nervous at the last part of her statement, thinking she must be referring to that damn website again. Shit, now he really wished he had had the guts to look at it and see exactly what those women had written about him. He hated being compared to some built up version of himself. It was crazy. He felt like he was always being compared to Alex his whole life, and now, he had some crazy image of 'Daniel Meade, playboy' he was always feeling like he had to somehow portray and live up to.

It wasn't really him, though. Of all people, Betty knew that. She knew the real person. That was what was so wonderful about their relationship. She could be herself, and he could be himself. There was no pretense, no fake images to live up to around each other. But now, he felt like he was going to be a big let down, thinking how she surely had some insane…image…."Uh, wow, that feels really good, Betty. You really know how to give a good massage." He looked down to see she had already removed his boxers, and was massaging his legs.

He had been so distracted, worrying; he really hadn't noticed what she was doing. But now, he was keenly aware of her softly touching him. Her long, silky hair falling onto his legs and she was slowly but surely working her way up to the part of his anatomy that hadn't been distracted one little bit to her ministrations.

He was suddenly extremely aware that he was completely naked, on the bed with Betty Suarez. She was beautiful. He had no idea all these years, how amazing her body was. He couldn't believe the woman had such fantastic breasts and her ass…well, that was just making him all kinds of happy right now. But it was Betty, for crying out loud! Goofy, silly, sweet, Betty.

The same woman who regularly ran around with pencils sticking out of the back of her hair before she had begun straightening it. Betty, who he had seen with raisins stuck in her braces. Betty, who up until fairly recently, wore socks with heels (when she wore heels), who also until very recently wore polka dots and stripes, none of which matched. Betty, who had on more than one occasion,crawled across the floor in meetings, who had on a pretty regular basis, been somewhat of an embarrassment to him when he first started working at Mode.

Then, she looked up at him, and smiled, sweetly. He melted, seeing that smile. Yeah, he thought, Betty, who took care of him, and got his sorry drunken ass from the bar at Union Square that time when he got so shit-faced, pining over stupid Sofia Reyes, and shared her family Christmas with him. Betty, who allowed him into her life, who forgave him for treating her like shit that first week. (And several times afterwards, like when he had fired her). Betty, who…was also so freaking sexy right now, with her great boobs and her sexy little panties, and Betty who was about to become very intimately acquainted with him right now. He closed his eyes, and smiled in anticipation.

The phone in the room rang loudly, causing them both to jump. "Oh, my God! That scared me!" Betty looked extremely startled. She reached for her glasses, and blushed, seeing her former boss, in all his naked glory, scrambling to stop the annoying ringing.

"HELLO!" he sounded pissed. Betty had been totally into what she was doing, trying to stay focused on watching Daniel and making sure he was really enjoying himself. So much so, that she had zoned out a bit until that phone, totally blew her concentration.

She was suddenly so embarrassed, she grabbed at the bed, trying to get a sheet to cover up with, but she pulled so hard she managed to roll Daniel off the bed completely. He landed on the floor, and let out a scream. "OW! Shit! Shit, shit, shit! Betty! What the hell?" He threw the rather old-fashioned, very substantial corded phone up across the bed in his pain and the receiver hit Betty squarely in the head as she tried to turn away. "OW! Daniel! What happened? I'm sorry I rolled you off the bed like that. I was just trying to…get a sheet." She walked around the side of the bed to see him, lying on the floor, holding onto himself, in obvious pain.

"I think you broke my di...!"

"Really? Can you actually do that?" She bit her lip, stifling a laugh, but got a sharp pain in the back of her head just then where the phone had made its impact.

He leaned over, moaning in pain. She didn't want to giggle nervously, when he was in so much pain, so she did what she usually did in times of crisis, she went into rescue mode. "I'll get us both some ice!"

She saw her dress in a heap, and pulled it on quickly, not bothering to zip it back up completely, and grabbed the ice bucket. "I'll be right back."

"Well, I'm sure as hell not going anywhere."

She could tell he was in a lot of pain, but so was she. She tried to fight off her nausea and dizziness as she pushed the button and quickly filled up the bucket. She ran back to their room and found a wash cloth to wrap around the ice. She got on the floor, next to Daniel, approaching him somewhat like a wounded animal, cautiously and hesitating.

"Here. Try this. God, I'm so, so, sorry, Daniel. I didn't mean to dump you off the bed like that. Did you uh…sort of land on…it?"

He closed his eyes, biting his lip in agony, and nodding his head as he winced at the cold of the ice. "Yeah. Kind of, I guess. Get me my boxers, please? This is way too cold without something between me. Can you uh help me get them back on? I'll just…"

She grabbed his boxers and stood next to him, putting his one hand on her shoulder and guiding his legs into them, one at a time. Then, she helped him gently to a recliner next to him, and went to retrieve the ice pack, and placed it back on him carefully.

She then went to make another ice pack for her own head. She sat down, next to Daniel on the love seat, holding the ice pack on the back of her head, closing her eyes, and fighting back tears.

He watched her and shook his head, then leaned over slightly to brush a strand of hair from her eyes. He used his thumb to wipe away a tear, laughing slightly, "Betty, it's okay. I think we'll both live. I may be out of commission for tonight. But, I'll get over it. I was just in really intense pain for a second, there. I'm sorry. I…look, you didn't actually _break_ it, okay? I'm not permanently disabled or anything. I mean, I could ask you to kiss it better, I guess, but that's sort of where we got all distracted in the first place, huh?"

He grinned at her. She laughed lightly, in spite of her own pain, too. "Wow, that was…unreal. Who was calling us here, anyway? I know I turned off my cell, didn't you?"

He nodded, "Oh, yeah. Definitely. We might want to call the front desk and see if whoever it was left a message or something, so it doesn't happen again at a REALLY bad time. We might both end up in the hospital the next time!"

She looked at him, sheepishly, "Will there be…a next time?"

He smiled and nodded, still keeping his ice pack on securely, but leaned forward to hold her face in his other hand and give her a tender kiss. "Oh, yeah. At least, I hope so. You can roll me off beds all day and night, Betty. Just make sure, next time, you're on the bed with me when you do. It'll be more fun together. I just…ahhh…wish it didn't hurt so much right now or I'd be happy to show you what I meant."

He blew out a breath. "I think I need to just lay down for a while, and maybe take some aspirin. Why don't you call down to the desk, and ask for some and see who was calling before so they don't do it again?" He smiled and kissed her cheek.

She nodded and went to call downstairs. "They said they would send some aspirin and asked if we would be dining downstairs or not later. I told them probably not."

"No, that's fine, Betty. I'll be okay. I just need to lay down for a little bit and take those aspirin, I think. It you know, knocked the wind out of me. But, I'll be okay in an hour or so. I mean, okay enough to get dressed and go have dinner. I guess we might as well check out that pretty view and listen to the reading you wanted, after all. I'm not really UP for doing what we planned for quite a while, though, that's for sure."

She nodded, sympathetically. He felt the back of her head. "You have a little lump. Maybe we should get them to send a doctor to take a look at you. I don't want you passing out on me tomorrow morning, just when I'm feeling better." He teased, cradling her cheek in his free hand.

She smiled, grabbing his hand and kissing it. "I can't believe you're being so nice to me after maiming you like that, Daniel. I was afraid you were never going to speak to me again."

He grinned, "Well, it helps a lot, thinking what you were about to do for me and hoping you won't be completely scared to uh…try again when I'm better."

She blushed. There was a knock on the door and she went to get the aspirins the front desk had sent up. She came and gave some to Daniel and took some herself.

"Oh, unfortunately, whoever tried to call didn't leave a message. Let me go check our cell phones to see if they tried to call them first."

She came back, holding Daniel's phone, "This is a local area code for here. No girlfriends you left behind here, pining for you, I hope?"

He shook his head and hit the call back number, "Only one way to find out. I suppose it could be some woman I left behind here, years ago, pining for me, since I'm so hard to get over! I doubt it, though." He smirked.

She hit his arm, "Not funny, Daniel!"

He nodded, listening to his message, "No, you're right. Oh, okay. It was Herb. I just got put to his voicemail, Hey, Herb! This is Daniel Meade, returning your call. Sorry, I had the cell turned off so me and the missus could enjoy a little alone time here at the hotel. I don't know how you got the number here, but let's just say, you have REALLY terrible timing, and you owe me a huge discount on your repair bill! I'll check back with you sometime in the morning, after you are open again tomorrow. Bye."

Betty reddened, "Daniel! Why did you say that? What if his secretary or something screens his messages?"

He shrugged, "Well, I certainly know what it's like to have a somewhat nosy assistant reading personal stuff about you. It's enough to throw a guy off his game a little, that's for sure!" he teased.

She sighed, and went to bring her laptop to him. She went to the website about Daniel and showed him some of the comments, his former 'dates' had written. "Here, see? There is nothing here that doesn't say how great you are, Daniel. Go ahead, read them yourself."

He looked at her after skimming through them, "Sorry, I got so freaked out about this, Betty. You're right. It's not that bad, I guess. A little personal for the internet. But none of them seem to trash me, at least."

She scrolled down several pages. "To me, it's not so much what any one woman said about you that I find so concerning, Daniel. They only leave their first names, of course, to protect their own privacy. But a few of the bolder ones posted their pictures, too. The thing that sort of bothered me more, was, this…" She kept scrolling, page after page. "page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5, page 6, page 7, page 8…"

He put the lid down on her laptop. "I get it, Betty. There are a LOT of girls there. There WERE a lot of woman. I can't change that, though. I can only go forward from where I am now. Just like you can't go back in time and change your high school years, or even your first few years at Mode, when you felt out of place, right? That doesn't mean either of us has to stay stuck in that version of ourselves, though, does it? We can choose to change things we're not so crazy about in ourselves. Or things we want to make better. That's what I'd really like to do with us, too. Wouldn't you?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ugly Betty!_

_A/N: So glad you all found Daniel's pain amusing! Awww…poor little guy! (Sorry, Daniel, I meant __**big**__ guy, of course!) LOL! No sex whatsoever in this one (he's benched, remember?) just a lot of talking, a little kissing. But no worries, things will heat right back up again next chapter, as soon as the big guy is off the bench!_

While Daniel rested, Betty took a shower and decided she would wear the blue version of her new wardrobe from the boutique, and possibly save the red one for one of the nights at Daniel's re-union. She twirled around, loving the way the dress flowed.

She felt like a big, goofy, clumsy dope after both the giggling and her little fiasco with the bed and poor Daniel's injured manhood. It was worse than her disastrous hot fudge incident with Henry that time!

She cringed, wondering if she was ever going to be sexy. Daniel had seemed very sweet, and forgiving for her idiotic behavior earlier, but if she kept it up, how long could the man deal with being slapped, then maimed, and who knows what else before he simply gave up out of sheer concern for his safety?

She decided she was going to take his advice, and make some changes right now. Starting with her beloved red glasses. Betty had brought her contacts with on the trip, thinking it would be far more believable that a man like Daniel would even consider being actually married to Betty if she lost the glasses, and perhaps dressed a bit more Park Avenue, less Queens. She flashed to her horrid 'Queens' makeover and how Wilhelmina had reduced her to tears.

Claire, on the other hand, had been very helpful, volunteering to help Betty find a few nice outfits for this little trip. In fact, the matriarch had seemed insistent on Betty accompanying Daniel to his fifteen year reunion.

Betty couldn't help wondering if Claire's friends would ever think to check up on Daniel's marital status and call them on it. Although, the personal life of fashion editors in NYC probably wasn't the topic of the day all the way up in the Boston and Connecticut upper crust of society.

In any case, they had their back story that Betty and Daniel had dated in secret, not wanting to come out with their relationship while she worked for him, and they had eloped a few months ago, in Cancun.

"At least I've actually BEEN there. If I lie about some place I've never even been to, I'll start sweating buckets and they'll know I'm making it up right away. You know what a terrible liar I am, and I can't think on my feet sometimes.

That time when I went to Victoria Hartley's dinner party and she changed the topic from torture to opera on me at the last minute, I froze up. I would have been completely lost if Matt hadn't been feeding me clues the whole time."

Claire eyed Betty, smiling slyly at her, "So…do you hear from Matt much since he went to Africa, Betty?"

She shrugged, deliberately avoiding directly looking at the woman. "A little, when he first got there. I think he may have met someone, though. He mentioned a doctor who worked near the village where he's volunteering and she sounded really nice. I haven't heard anything from him since he talked about meeting her. I'm happy for him if that's what happened."

Claire smiled and nodded, looking at the black pencil skirt and dark blue, satin button down shirt she had chosen for Betty. "Perfect, just one thing. Now! That will get you noticed. You have such beautiful breasts, dear. Why on earth do you hide them?" She unbuttoned two of the buttons, revealing a fair amount of cleavage.

Betty furrowed her brows, "Mrs. Meade! I don't want Daniel's friends to think I'm some slutty woman he picked up at a bar and married in Vegas or something."

Claire laughed, "I don't think there's much danger in anyone thinking that, Betty."

When Claire mentioned casually that Daniel hadn't been seeing anyone recently, Betty suggested maybe he was having a hard time dealing with breaking up with Amanda.

Claire shook her head, and stood next to Betty, "Amanda's actually a lot sweeter than I ever gave her credit for. She's been a great support to Tyler, and I think she's a very nice girl. However, she isn't and never was anything to Daniel other than a pleasant distraction and finally now a friend, I believe. No, personally, I have thought for some time now that he has strong feelings for someone else. Someone he's very close to, Betty." She grinned at her.

Betty had merely smiled, uncomfortably. Then, when Daniel himself had called her and asked her to 'do him this favor' and indicated it was to help his mom save face in front of her 'friends', she agreed, but now she could see the dots starting to connect.

It seemed Claire was setting them up, all along, because she recognized her son's growing feelings for her starting to develop and figured the couple needed a push. The realization had Betty starting to feel light-headed again, and she wasn't sure if it was her head injury that was making her that way or the idea that Daniel might actually be falling for her.

She had to think he wouldn't just want sex, either. Not with her. He had said straight out he didn't want to do anything that would wreck their friendship. He was willing to 'wait for her to be ready', and that he thought she was worth the wait.

As she processed all that, she was really having a hard time breathing again. She had her head down at the sink and was trying to gather her thoughts about all these changes when she felt Daniel's breath on the back of her neck.

"Hey. I like the blue one, too. You look…whoa! You got contacts? Betty, you're really beautiful."

She blushed, as she had turned at the sound of his voice. His startled, but happy look when he saw her unencumbered face gave her a huge confidence boost. She looked down shyly at first, then back up to meet his smile with her own. "Thanks. You're sweet. Uh, how's your…injury?" She blushed again.

He shrugged it off, "I'll be fine, Betty. I'm sorry I freaked out like that. I didn't mean to scare you or to make you feel bad. I just uh…haven't ever landed in quite that position before. It took me by surprise." He smiled, almost shyly for a minute, she thought. But then, out came the confidence again, as he held her by her bare arms and ran one finger up them suggestively.

"So, uh…I'm thinking by tomorrow, I should be good as new, Betty. I was hoping that even though I got us a suite for the re-union, you might be willing to let me come hang out with you in the big king sized bed I got for your room?

If you want, I could look for some armor plated condoms or something, just in case you decide to get frisky and roll me off the bed again. Like I said before, I definitely don't mind rolling _around_ on _top _of the bed, as long as you are on it with me." he teased.

_Did he just say condoms?_ Okay, this was really intense, and she needed to try and act normal. Say something. Say anything! Betty, SPEAK! Daniel just ask you about getting condoms and sharing your bed with him tomorrow. (As soon as he healed from her unprovoked penis attack from tonight that is!)

She cleared her throat, finding words getting stuck there. "I think that sounds…nice."

"Just nice?" he grinned.

"Sorry, sexy. I mean, that sounds very…sexy, Daniel."

"Are you sure you're okay? How's your head?" he reached down to put his hand on the back of her head. "I still think I feel a little bump there. You sure there's no brain damage?" he grinned at her.

She shook her head. "No. My brain is fine, thanks. The aspirin helped. Thanks, Daniel. So, do you need the shower? I think I'll go on downstairs. They're doing the reading in about fifteen minutes. I can just meet you down there and save you a seat. Unless…can you get dressed okay by yourself? Do you need any help?"

He shook his head. "I'll be fine. I can dress myself now. The aspirin and putting my dick up on a pillow really helped." He teased.

She blushed, "Daniel!"

He laughed, "Sorry, Betty. I just have to say stuff like that to make you get all blushy and cute like this sometimes. You're so adorable!"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Okay, Mr. Smart Alec, I just want to know which pillow you used, so I can have it sanitized!"

"Hey!" he chuckled. "Okay, so, I guess I'll meet you downstairs in twenty minutes. Wait, I don't know. Now that I think about it, maybe I do need your help washing and dressing, Betty." He grinned at her.

She smiled, "Nope. You had your chance, Daniel. You've already used up all your sympathy points for this time."

"This time? Are you planning on more injuries?" he looked a bit concerned.

She smiled, putting her hand on his cheek. "No, I was only kidding. I'm hoping my spazz outs are over for this trip, at least. I'm really sorry I got so nervous or whatever, Daniel. Please don't think it means I don't want things to move forward with us, okay?

I think I just got scared, that's all. You know me. I don't do change very well sometimes. It takes me a while to wrap my head around anything different. You, you're always leaping into things so quickly. You have a lot more courage and faith than I do."

He leaned down to kiss her softly, "Thanks for that, Betty. You're sweet to always spin things so positively. You could have said it like my mom always does, that I'm too impulsive and jump into things without thinking them through. I get that. I agree with you both, too.

I know I can be that way. It gets me into trouble sometimes, that's for sure. Who are we kidding? It's gotten me into trouble a lot. But that's what I have you for. To be my little researcher and help me figure out how to get out of the things I shouldn't have leapt into so fast if I need to. This is one of those rare times when I'm leaping into something pretty great, though.

Plus, we have known each other for four years, Betty. So, I hardly think that makes this all THAT 'impulsive' of me. I think, to a lot of our friends and family, it's going to be more like 'what took you guys so long', you know? I mean, Marc has been calling us lovers for almost a year now. I think it stopped being ironic for him a good six months ago at least, because he doesn't say lov-_ahs_, now, I noticed." He smirked.

Betty thought back to Hilda's reaction. Daniel was right. Their friends and family seemed to have noticed something between them a long time ago. Maybe they were all right. They definitely had the 'friendship' part down. She had never felt so comfortable with any man before Daniel (or since).

So, now that she had those crazy butterflies and things were definitely heating up between both of them, why was she hesitating? The man was incredible. He was sweet, and funny, and, and…he was kissing her again.

As they parted, she looked up, "What was that for?"

He shrugged, "You hadn't left yet. I figured you were waiting for a kiss goodbye before you left me to go downstairs."

He started to turn away and head back into the bathroom, but she suddenly grabbed him down for a very intense kiss. She ran her hands through his hair and explored his mouth eagerly with her tongue.

He just stood there for a second, then, wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer and returned her kiss. It quickly became very heated and she ran her hands down his back, greatly enjoying the feel of his muscular form, even to the point that she couldn't resist grabbing his butt. Oh, my God, he had an incredibly nice ass, she thought.

She felt him start to laugh, and pulled away slightly, whispering against his lips, "Are you laughing now? Don't tell me you've got the giggles, too."

He shook his head slightly, still pressed against her mouth, "No, I just can't believe you, grabbing my ass like that, Betty. Who knew what a wild woman you were in the bedroom all this time? A little dangerous maybe, but I'm thinking if just making out with you is this crazy, the actual sex is going to be intense! As long as we don't kill each other first!"

She rolled her eyes, "Shut up and kiss me again, Daniel. You can grab my ass, too, if it makes you feel better."

He laughed, kissing her again quickly, then pushing away gently but firmly, "If I do that, you'll never get out of here, Betty. And since my star quarterback is benched for the night, I think it might be too much torture to start something I can't finish right now. But, can I get a rain check, same bat time, same bat channel for tomorrow? Or maybe midnight tonight, whatever, as soon as the tray is in the upright and locked position, you know?"

She rolled her eyes, "I think I got it, yes, Daniel. I told you I didn't get brain damage from you throwing the phone at me."

"Hey! Don't start. You broke my dick first, before I hit your head. It was a defensive gesture. I wasn't aiming for your head or anything. It was an accident. I said I was sorry, too." He kissed her head.

"Well, I wasn't aiming for your…thing, either. I said I was sorry like a million times, Daniel. What do you want me to do, kiss it bet…never mind. I wasn't serious."

He grinned, grabbing her hand, and pretending to pull it towards him, "Hmmm…you know, come to think of it, that doesn't actually sound too bad. Maybe all I need is some physical therapy. You could continue your massage where you left off before, to my _other_ leg." He kissed her cheek, which was bright red now, as she pulled away, and started heading for the door.

"Okay, very funny, Daniel. Sorry I said anything. I'll see you downstairs. Bye." He watched her leave, smiling at how damn cute she was when she got embarrassed.

After a few minutes, listening to the funny, quirky excerpts from Mrs. Fuller's book about Bette Davis, Betty relaxed, thinking this was going to definitely be one 'bumpy ride' for her and Daniel, too, perhaps. But a good one.


	12. Chapter 12

**Lost on the Road**

**Chapter 12**

_A/N: Okay, warning: if you're offended by sexual content, you might not want to read any further. Who are we kidding; you probably wouldn't be on this website if you were, right? You may not enjoy as much as Betty does, but knock yourself out!_

Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!

After waiting for almost an hour, Betty was starting to get worried about what was taking Daniel so long to come and join her for dinner. She had tried texting and calling, but figured he still hadn't turned his phone back on yet. She started to have them call on the dreaded phone in the room, but didn't want to cause more injuries.

So, she decided to go and see what was taking him so long. She hoped he hadn't injured himself further, trying to act like he wasn't hurt when he really was. Although, she knew, normally, Daniel was a bit of a baby when it came to being sick or hurt.

She rounded the corner and almost ran into someone on her way up the stairs. "Daniel! There you are. I was just coming to look for you. Are you okay? Did you actually uh…need help? You could have called me."

He shook his head, and she looked at his face, thinking his speech sounded slightly slurred when he spoke, "Betty! Wow, I never knew how freaking hot you were, under all those weird clothes you always wore. If I had, I probably would have well, you know, attacked you or something.

Why the hell did you dress like that, when you've got such a rockin little body? You are so smoking hot when you're well, practically naked. And God, your boobs are like…well, I just want to…grab them now and…."

She looked at him, with her eyes widened, "Daniel! Please, let's not have this conversation in a hallway, alright? Are you drunk? Why are you talking like that?"

He took out a bottle of pills from his pocket, slightly stumbling, and shook them in her face, then 'whispered' loudly, "I was having a hard time, wow, that's kind of funny, hard time, huh, getting dressed, so I called the front desk to see if they had a guy that could come help me a little and this funny little guy came and I think maybe he was gay or at least a little confused, cause he seemed like he thought I was coming onto him."

She stood and rolled her eyes, "Well, maybe because you asked if a guy could come to your room and help you get dressed? It's not unreasonable for the person to think you were asking for sex, Daniel. You could have asked me to help you."

"Well, I had a towel on. I just needed to lean on somebody a little. And we both know if you had helped me I would have been in agony, cause it would have turned me on and I can't really deal with that right now. Anyways, I told him what happened and he said I was lucky, because you can actually break it! Isn't that crazy? I didn't even know that you could. I mean, I heard stories, but…didn't think they were true.

But, I didn't land on it enough to do that, thank goodness. I just kind of bruised it a little. It's not that bad. I just feel a little like somebody kicked me in the nuts, that's all, you know? Oh, right, I guess you don't know cause you don't have those…but anyway…so, what was I saying?"

She shook her head, "I have no idea. You're not making a lot of sense right now. Maybe you were going to tell me the guy gave you whatever those drugs are that have clearly made you high as a kite? Daniel, what were you thinking? You know you had a problem with drugs before, why would you take something that some random guy who works at the hotel gives you? You don't have any idea what they are! Come on, let's go back to the room and maybe we can reach your doctor and ask him about them."

He pulled away, "I'm fine, Betty. Just a little uh…wobbly, maybe. But I'm good. I might be a little wasted. He said these are muscle relaxers and I feel pretty relaxed alright. I'm kind of hungry. Did you eat yet? I could eat something. I could eat a lot right now, actually.

I want to order everything on the menu. That sounds like fun. Yeah, let's do that!" He started pulling on her hand to come downstairs with him. He seemed like a petulant, spoiled child right now, so Betty spoke in soothing tones.

"Daniel, how about we just go back up to the room and order room service? We can still get whatever you want to eat, but they'll deliver it to us, okay?"

He smoothed down on his jacket, "But I got dressed so I could come down and look nice for you. And you look so pretty in that dress, I don't want to not let you show off how cute you look in your dress, Betty. I really, really think you're so sweet and sexy, and uh sweet, you know that? I'm so glad you came with me. I like pretending we're married. I wish I could practice being married with you right now. I think I'm being punished for sleeping with all those other women.

And now, the one girl I really want to be with more than all those others put together and I keep getting stopped. It must be some kind of bad karma or something."

She put the key back in the room, and led him inside. He looked around as if he hadn't realized where they were going, "Awww, Betty! We're back in the room! But, I wanted to show you off. I'm so proud to be with you. You look so damn cute tonight."

She closed the door behind them, "Thank you, Daniel. You look very handsome tonight in that suit, too, and I appreciate that you went to so much trouble to put it on for me. In fact, you look _so_ hot; I think I want you all to myself. I'm going to order a bunch of food to have sent up here, and we're going to get cozy and watch movies and eat and talk and maybe kiss a little and just enjoy being together tonight. And as soon as that pill wears off and once you are feeling better, we'll see what happens, okay?

No demands, no pressure, no expectations, just us talking and having a good time together. Maybe I will give you that massage later, after all. We'll see."

He smirked at her, "If I'm a good boy?"

She nodded, taking off his tie, and looking up at him, "Yes, if you're a very good boy, I promise, Daniel. I'll give you a massage once you're feeling better, okay?

He nodded. She managed to help him off with his jacket and pants very carefully. He started becoming very 'handsy' with her, as she took off his tie, "I can be a VERY good boy, Betty."

She just smiled, and nodded, moving his hands away, "I'm sure you can, Daniel. Let's just get comfortable, and I'll order whatever you want from the menu."

He started kissing her neck and whispered, "What I really want isn't on the menu, Betty. It's you. Do you know what I really want to do to you right now?"

She blushed, pushing him away, "I think I can crack THAT code, yes, Daniel."

He shook his head, giving her a silly grin, "I don't know. Of course, you did read all those things about me online, so maybe you know esactly what you want you to me to do to you, huh? Just name it, sweetie. I'll be happy to be a really, really good boy. Cause you deserve it. You're so nice to me. You always have been. Even when I didn't deserve it."

She nodded and helped him sit down. She ordered room service and they watched movies, and ate from the love seat, feeding one another and laughing for several hours. Eventually, Daniel started to sound a bit more back to normal.

He got up to clear away some of the mess they had made.

She looked back at him, and got up to help him clean up, "Are you able to move around better, now?"

He smiled, "Yeah, I'm feeling much better, thanks."

She looked at him, "Are you comfortable in that shirt? I could help you get it off if you want."

He looked down and raised his eyebrows, "Miss Suarez, are you coming on to me, again? What took you so long?" He grabbed her wrists, and backed her up towards the bed.

She looked at him, hesitatingly, "Remember, we can't do anything, Daniel. So, maybe we shouldn't start something we can't finish. And I wasn't coming on to you, honest."

He shook his head, as he quickly stripped off his shirt, "Yes you were. Maybe we can't do anything with my big boy tonight, but that doesn't mean I can't at least live up to my reputation. You were willing to take care of me, before we got interrupted, and then you got all nervous and freaked out. I admit, I've been a little nervous about pleasing you, too, but…I'm not anymore. I'd like to try. But it requires you to have a lot less clothes on."

"Daniel, uh…that's okay. You're not feeling well."

He shook his head, and stopped, looking down at her with a slight smirk, "You're still nervous, aren't you, Betty? Maybe you should take one of these things, because I'm suddenly not afraid of messing up any more."

He shook the pills, but she took them and threw them in the trash, "Neither of us needs those. And about the other thing that you said, Daniel, that's uh…really sweet of you to offer, but I'm fine. Don't you think we should wait to do anything until you're back to yourself, you know? We can just talk tonight."

He held her arms, and put his forehead against hers, "Betty, it's been four years. I think we've done enough talking. It's time for some action."

He reached around her and quickly unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the floor, and pushed her from the foot of the bed, gently onto it, and smirked, "I like your underwear. Is it new?"

She rolled her eyes at him, as she scooted away from him on the bed, "You know they are, silly. You bought them for me. You know, Daniel, if you're not up to this…"

He crawled across the bed after her and kissed her, "Stop stalling. Just because I can't do _everything_ right now, doesn't mean I can't do _anything_. I want you, Betty. I want all of you, but I'll take whatever I can get.

He kept following her further up the bed, until she was backed up to the headboard. He leaned over the top of her, and kissed her, then began running one hand from her cheek, down her shoulder…

"Daniel…"

He started planting kisses across her neck, as she drew a deep breath, "Daniel, I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I won't."

"But…how, I mean, won't that make you get excited?"

He shook his head, "It would, but like I told you, those are muscle relaxers, so my muscles are all very relaxed right now. You know, _all_ my muscles. I promise, I won't be doing anything that causes either one of us ANY pain tonight, okay?" he grinned at her, wolfishly, as he proceeded to kiss his way down to her body. Her eyes widened at first, with something akin to panic, realizing what he had in mind.

But that feeling quickly subsided as she gave into his expertise and found the man well deserved every complimentary thing ever written about him on the website. (and more). And he was right about her screaming his name, too.

She opened her eyes to see him grinning at her, as he worked his way back up, kissing her stomach, and gently caressing her. "Hey."

She tried to even out her breathing, "Hey. That was, that was….wild. You're _really_ good at that, you know, Daniel?"

He grinned boyishly, "Thanks. So… About that massage. I'm feeling a LOT better, Betty. And since I've been such a good boy… Are you up for it?"

She raised her eyebrows, "Really? How much better?"

He smiled broadly, "A whole lot better. I still don't know if we should…you know, quite yet. But, I think that massage you promised me might be just the kind of physical therapy the doctor ordered right now."

"Okay, Daniel. I don't mind giving you a massage at all. I just don't want you to push anything and hurt yourself." He anxiously rolled onto his side, and she started massaging his back and shoulders.

"Mmm…that feels so good, Betty. You're really good at _this_. Thanks." He mumbled.

She kept massaging down his back and after a few minutes, she stopped, hearing a distinct sound coming from him. She couldn't be sure, but yes, wait, was that Daniel snoring? She shook her head, giggling. Yep, this was definitely going to be a 'bumpy ride' alright, she thought to herself, kissing his cheek as she covered him up.


	13. Chapter 13

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!

Daniel woke to hear the water running. He immediately thought of joining Betty in the shower. Unfortunately, he feared she would be in no mood to fool around. In fact, he just hoped she didn't plan on another slap or two.

He cringed; thinking of his actions of the previous evening and how ill-advised most of them were and he wondered how she was going to react to them. First of all, there was the fact that he had been too embarrassed to ask for her help when she offered it, so he had called for the guy from the front desk to come and had obviously given the man the wrong impression.

As soon as Daniel made it clear his was simply an injury-related need and not a sexual one (at least not for him!) the guy turned out to be nice enough, but when he offered Daniel the stupid muscle relaxers, he knew he should have just said no. Although, they really did help him feel better.

Unfortunately, they also made him sound like a complete idiot, he seemed to recall. He also distinctly remembered getting pretty friendly with Betty. However, there was a point past which he didn't remember at all and he was guessing they might have been in the middle of something when he had passed out. Great first impression for his love-making, he thought!

Here they were, going to his fifteen-year reunion for college, which made him feel old enough already, then the first time they get close to having sex, he fell asleep on her? _I'm sure I'm really living up to all her expectations of me,_ he thought!

When she came out of the shower, Daniel smiled, "Hi, Betty." He glanced at the clock on the night table briefly, to see it was just before eleven.

She jumped almost losing her towel. "Daniel! You scared me! I…didn't know you were awake yet. Uh, Good morning."

"I…I'll finish getting dressed in the bathroom quickly, so you can use the shower. Herb called back and said Bobby's car is fixed and we can just pick it up any time on our way back home. He also said he was very sorry for his bad timing! I think we need to talk once you get out of the shower."

"I uh…okay." He wondered what she was going to ream him out for first, taking the stupid pills or getting far too friendly while he was still under the influence of those pills. Still, he smiled to himself, thinking he definitely didn't remember her slapping him away this time. In fact, he recalled her seeming to enjoy herself quite a bit; at least, up until when he fell asleep on her!

When she came back out, dressed very chicly, in a pencil skirt and blouse that looked somewhat like an outfit his mom probably suggested for her.

"Why was I in the bed? You didn't sleep on the couch, I hope, Betty?"

She shook her head, "I tried to, but it wasn't very comfortable, so, I came and finally got you to move over, Mister Snore-y!" She teased.

He raised his eyebrow, "I don't snore!"

"Sure, you don't. You know, I'm really upset with you, Daniel. What exactly were you thinking, taking those pills? You don't have a clue what was in them. That guy could have been an undercover cop, trying to trap you or a thief trying to beat you up like that other guy did. Or, sorry, should I say the Girl Scout who hit you with the rock?"

"That's not what I said, Betty. I know how stupid it was. I'm sorry. I was in a lot of pain. I wasn't thinking strait."

"So, you go to a doctor. You don't take some stuff that you don't know what it is from a guy you don't know, who probably thought you were a lonely gay guy, calling the front desk for a booty call, so he took pity on you."

He furrowed his brow, "Well, that sounds pathetic, Betty! Geez, the next thing you know, you'll have me naming my cats like Marc's mom and wearing cardigans and scarves."

"Or ascots?" She teased, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, it was a look I tried. I do work in fashion, you know."

"Not helping your case, so far, Daniel."

He had had enough of her teasing so he went on the offensive, at least as much as he could, given the circumstances.

"Well, I sure didn't hear any complaints last night, Miss Suarez. Or do you always purr like a kitten with all your _gay_ lovers?"

She seemed slightly embarrassed. "I did NOT…do that! You remember that?"

He furrowed his brows, "Well, yeah, I definitely remember some parts of last night. I'm sorry I fell asleep, though. Uh, exactly how far did we get before I conked out, anyway?"

"What, do you expect me to describe it to you? You fell asleep when I started to massage you. Your neck and back, that's all, okay?"

He looked puzzled, "I know THAT'S not ALL, Betty. I'm pretty positive we got a _lot _farther than that!"

She blushed, but stuttered, "Not that you would remember, Romeo. I'm going to get dressed, so you can use the shower now. We should get back on the road, so we can get registered and checked in to The Charles once we get there. It should only take us a little over three hours to get there, so we could have lunch here before we head out, if you're hungry. Maybe it will soak up some of the drugs still in your system, Daniel."

"Ha, ha, very funny. I'm really sorry, Betty. I know that was a really bonehead move on my part. But, next time, maybe don't play so rough, to begin with, okay?" He had started to pass her, on his way to shower and dress, and he stopped now, to put his hand on her shoulder, and raised one eyebrow.

She drew a startled breath, as he brushed against her. "I'm…never going to live that one down, am I?"

She shook her head, regretfully. He smiled, lifting up her chin to reach down for a brief kiss. "Probably not, no. It's something we'll tell our…never mind."

Her eyes grew large as she contemplated what he might have started to say. But he rushed into the bathroom to shower, mumbling, "I'll be right out. We can stop and get that lunch here, if you want."

"Sure, sounds great." She called out to the closed door, shaking her head at herself. _Why was she reminding the poor guy of her spazz-out? No wonder he sought out some sort of relief, the man was probably in agony, and just didn't want to make her feel terrible for being such a clumsy idiot, she thought!_

Daniel closed the door and leaned against it, thinking, _God, what kind of an idiot am I? "It's something we'll tell our what-grandchildren?" Is that seriously what you were going to say, Daniel? Shit, you're going to totally FREAK her out, saying stuff like that!_

He closed his eyes and tried to shake off feelings that he was going way too fast for Betty on this trip. But, as he stood there, letting the water wash over his body, he started flashing back to all the time they had spent together over the years, laughing, talking, sharing so much. Hadn't they known each other long enough and been closer than anyone else in their lives in all this time? WAS he really rushing?

He cursed, silently, suddenly remembering he had rushed into the shower, out of embarrassment and forgotten to bring his clothes in with him. So, he grabbed the only towel available, one that was a bit on the short side and barely covered him. He realized Betty probably had used the only large bath towel and just assumed the other one was the same size. He smiled to himself, stepping out, as she was finishing packing.

Her eyes popped as she saw him, "Daniel! Uh, oh…I'm sorry! Did I take the only big towel?"

He grinned, pretending it didn't faze him in the slightest. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess so. That's okay. I like wearing mini towels. It shows off my great legs, don't you think?"

"Of course it does. Here you go; sexy legs. Here are your clothes." She giggled at him, parading around, as she handed him his suit.

He started to head back into the bathroom, then stopped, "Oh, wifey dear, you forgot my boxers. Unless you intended for me to go commando on the way there so you could have your way with me in the car or something."

She rolled her eyes, thinking a minute, then, as she reached into his luggage, she pulled out a pair of his silk boxers and threw them at him, hitting him square in the face.

He grinned, and as he pulled them down, then threw them to the floor and started chasing her around the room, "Oh, so you DO want to play rough, huh?"

He caught her after only a few minutes and as he held her around the waist, he looked down at her. "I like the outfit. I assume Mom helped you pick it out? Very Cambridge, Rich Bitch wife. Not that you're a…you know what I mean. You uh…fit the role. Can I offer one small adjustment, though? Try this."

He deftly unfastened her two top buttons, exposing quite a bit more cleavage. She put her hands up to cover herself, "Daniel! Stop! You're as bad as your mother. Do you really want people to think your wife is some hoochey?"

He shook his head, "Don't be such a prude, Betty. You look amazing in that. Very upper crust. And excuse me, darling, but please don't refer to my wife as a 'hoochey'! And I definitely want people to know my wife has great boobs."

She giggled, "You are the one who told ME not to say big boobs, Daniel. No fair!"

He laughed, "Yeah, I guess I did. Well, that was before I realized how great yours were, wife, dear."

"Daniel, you can wait to call me that till we get there, you know."

He shook his head, and kissed her hand, "Nope. I think we should get into character as much as possible, Betty. We want it to seem believable that we're a happily married couple."

"I suppose so." Betty started to leave, but he stopped her, "Where do you think you're going?" and held her face in his hand and reached down to kiss her tenderly.

She bit her lip, looking up at him, "Daniel, you should put some clothes on."

"Why?" he teased.

"Because…you're practically naked. And we need to get going, remember?" She looked down suddenly, and realized just how exposed he was.

He became aware of his reaction to her closeness and their kiss at about the same time she did and at first he almost blushed, but then, realizing happily that he was no longer in pain, he did his best imitation of Al Pacino, grinning, "Say hello to my little friend!"

"Daniel! You're such a child!"

He shrugged, "Maybe so, Betty. But at least I can function like a man again, without pain. Or…so it would seem, anyway, I suppose we COULD always do a check. Run him around the block." He held up his hand for her to slap.

She reluctantly hit his hand, but rolled her eyes, "Like I said, a CHILD! Go put some clothes on, please! We don't really have time for…playing right now. We need to get going!"

He smiled, and pecked her cheek. "See, you really are acting like a wife, Betty! Denying me sex before we've even had our wedding night? Next thing you know, you'll be saying you have a headache and start having an affair with your tennis instructor!"

She smirked, as she slapped his butt, pushing him towards the bathroom, "Hilarious, Daniel. Here, don't forget these, _honey!" _She threw him the boxers, and shut the door in his face.

About ten minutes later, he re-emerged, looking very handsome in a blue Dolce suit, with one of his signature light purple shirts, and darker purple ties.

He held out his arm for her, "Mrs. Meade. Are you ready for a quick bite before we get back on the road? I'll have someone get our bags and take them out to the car for us while we have lunch."

She read off their itinerary for the re-union with typical Betty-like efficiency. He laughed, "I never realized it, Betty, but you've sounded like my wife for a long time, already."

As they sat looking out at the lovely waterfall, enjoying their lunch, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

She looked surprised, "What was that for, Daniel?"

He shrugged, "Just for putting up with me all these years, Betty. I know I can be a handful, sometimes."

She nodded and smiled, and reached over to kiss him on the cheek as well, "True. But…you're also a lot of fun."

He gave her a half smile and as they headed to the car Daniel threw her the keys, "Here, you drive. I admit; you can handle a stick better than I can. Just remember to look out for deer, darling."


	14. Chapter 14

_**Lost on the Road**_

Chapter 14

Betty laughed as she jingled the keys in her hand. "They didn't have an automatic, huh? Although, even those, you manage to crash into trees..." Daniel stood next to her, outside the driver's side. He backed her up against the car.

"I'm letting you drive; don't push it, Betty. In spite of your tablecloth tricks, I'm back to normal manhood status now. Do I have to prove to you who wears the pants in this 'family', wifey? If you like, I can show you, right here, right now."

He had her pinned against the door, as he smiled down at her. She sighed, "So sorry if I dared to question your male ego, Daniel. Perish the thought. I told you before, driving ability is not related to testosterone levels."

"No, actually, what you said was I didn't drive better than you just because I have a penis. And I'm telling you that trying to damage mine isn't going to make YOU a better driver, if that's what you had in mind! Look, if you want to drive, fine. I'll navigate. You can't read a map very well, anyway, Miss Magoo!" He started to back away slightly.

She rolled her eyes, "Very funny. Just because I wear glasses normally! I can too read a map, Daniel. You just don't know how to admit it when you're lost. You're like every other man and would rather wander around for hours, clueless as to where you are, than to ask for directions and admit when you need help. Like getting dressed last night!"

"Fine. _If_ this is really about asking for directions, I promise, if we get lost, we'll ask for directions. It really shouldn't be that hard to find the place. There should be plenty of signs off the highway for Harvard. It's not like I've never been there before. Besides, YOU'RE the one who likes to get off on these stupid little side roads to 'see the country' and gets us lost!"

An elderly man walked by, hearing them argue and laughed, "You two sound like you've been married a long time. How long have you been hitched?"

"Oh, we're not.../Five months" Betty and Daniel both spoke at the same time, then looked at each other, uncertain what to say.

Betty corrected herself to 'practice' their deception, "We've only been married for five months. I keep forgetting!"

"Sounded more like five years, the way you two argue!" the man laughed. "I take it you knew each other pretty well for some time _before_ you were married?"

"Four years." they both answered, then laughed.

"That explains it, then. Well, good luck on your journey. Remember to enjoy it as much as the destination. It's where most of the fun is! Don't forget to be grateful for what you have together. A lot of folks never find what you two obviously have. That's what I had, too, before my wife died. Marrying your best friend. That's the kind of love that lasts. You're very lucky. Nice meeting you both."

"Nice meeting you." they said together, then grinned at one another.

As the man walked away, Daniel looked down at their hands. He played with the 'wedding' ring she was wearing. "So...uh, Mrs. Meade, do you feel like giving your hubby here a driving lesson? I guess it has been a while since I've driven a manual. I know HOW, I just need a little practice, and a refresher course, maybe.

I don't get much call to drive in New York, period, and the few times I drove my mom's car, or my dad's they were both automatics, so it's been a while. It was probably in college, when Becks and I drove his brother's car, then later, in Italy, just after we graduated, and I got the Lamborghini.

I mean, you _were_ able to teach me how to dance just over the phone that time. I looked like an idiot, I'm sure, doing the white man's overbite. But, I have a feeling, if you had actually been there, showing me how in person, I'd be on Dancing with the Stars right now."

She grinned at him, rolling her eyes, "Well, if you were a star, maybe. You're not THAT famous, Daniel. Other than for fooling around, that is."

He grinned, opening the door for her. "You really NEVER cut me any slack, do you, Betty?"

She rolled her eyes, "You get enough slack from the girls who follow you around, Daniel. If you're serious about wanting a refresher, get in. I'll let you practice and I promise, I'll be a NICE teacher. It only took me a few lessons for Bobby to teach me how to drive a stick. And that was in Queens. There's hardly any traffic, here. So, you can grind the gears all you want until you learn. Go ahead. Get in, Speed Racer." she slapped him on the butt and went around to the passenger side.

He shook his head, "Me and my big mouth! What am I getting myself into?"

She laughed, "Come on, you're the man, Daniel. You've got big balls and all that. You can handle it. I promise, I'll be gentle." She teased.

"Funny, Betty. Okay. I'll let you give me a thirty minute driving lesson. But, if we start biting each others' heads off or you make me crash into anything else, we're hiring a driver, like I wanted to until you talked me out of it. I can't believe you, always putting me on a budget."

"I understand you being a little skittish after yesterday's incident, but it's like they say, you've got to get back on the horse. Hiring someone to drive us that far is ridiculously expensive for no reason, and giving me the keys so I can listen to you backseat drive me the whole way just isn't going to happen, either. Let's get you back on the horse, Daniel."

"I haven't done a lot of horse riding lately, either, Betty. You do know me, right?" He shook his head and got in while Betty sat down in the passenger seat, buckling her seat belt.

He looked at her, "Does this thing have air bags?"

"Yes. But we're not going to need them, are we? Come on, have a little confidence in yourself, Daniel. The main 'trick' to this is just practice and lots of it. You have to get that muscle memory going on what it feels like to gradually ease off the clutch as each gear engages while you accelerate at the same time."

She demonstrated with her hands, going up and down, alternatively. "Like this. Ease off the clutch, as you push down on the gas. It's that simple. Make sure you are going through all the gears, too. At least, until you're confidence returns. If you're worried about grinding gears, you can always pop it back into neutral.

Oh, and watch your tachometer and also check your speed. Bobby told me that you kind of want to gauge your speed to the gear. Start out in first, then anything over ten miles an hour, you put it into second, and so on. Got it?"

He looked a little overwhelmed at her rapid instructions as he sat down. "Yeah, I guess."

"Well, just keep practicing here in this empty parking lot. There are no other cars right now, no deer, or trees, just open , it's perfect." she teased.

"Ha, ha! Funny girl. I was distracted yesterday."

"Fine. Whatever you say, Daniel. I'm sorry. Now, why don't you just drive around in circles until you're ready to take it down the lane. Whenever you're ready."

He looked down at the pedals and at the gear shift. "Don't rush me, Betty. You're always in such a hurry. Remember what that guy just told us, enjoy the ride. Life's about the journey, and all that stuff, right? Let me just sit here and think for a minute, please."

She sat for a few seconds, then bit her bottom lip. Then, she took a deep breath. Daniel gave her a sideways glance, then took a breath and looked at the car. "Betty"

"Sorry." He slid the key into the ignition, started the engine, and gave the car too much gas, whining out the engine.

He held up his hand, "Not a word, Betty. I'll get it."

She 'zippped' her lips, and let him keep trying. He ground the gears, and killed the engine, and the car lurched forward numerous times, until after about ten minutes, he seemed to get his rhythm, and shifted through all the gears smoothly. Betty offered a few minor suggestions, and smiled, "I think you've got it, though. Keep going through the gears, until you've got the flow, you'll be an old pro in no time, Daniel. So, are you ready to hit the road, now? Or do you still want me to drive?"

"I'll drive half way, as long as I don't crash into any trees or anything, then you can drive the rest of the way into the city. I'll be better at navigating us, once we get closer to Harvard. Deal?"

"Deal." She smiled.

He started to lurch forward, but she put her hand on top of his, "You CAN actually skip a gear, Daniel, if you've got your speed up enough. Just don't keep skipping ALL the gears, like you were before. " She looked down at her hand on his. "You're doing great."

He nodded, smiling, "Thanks. You're a good teacher. When you stop talking too fast, at least."

"Shut up, Daniel."

"Yes, ma'am." he laughed.

After they had been on the road for some time, he asked, "So...you feel like telling me what happened back there at the inn, Betty? Did you change your mind about us? Or just get scared? Is it still the whole boss thing, not wanting to cross some invisible line?

I mean, I could fire you, and then we could date for a while, and if things go well enough, you could either get a job at another magazine, or...I could help you start your own.

We both know you're not really into fashion, anyway. No offense. Actually, now that I think of it, I'm not opposed to starting up our own business together. I'm sick to death of all the drama at Mode. As far as I'm concerned, Wilhelmina can have it! God knows, she sold her soul already to run it. If she ever even had one, to begin with, that is. I can't believe some of the stuff she's pulled to do what I got just thrown at me.

I almost feel like I should do something on my own, to prove I don't always need my family name in order to succeed all the time, you know?"

Betty looked at him, "You might want to start your own business? With me?"

He shrugged, "Who else am I going to trust, Betty?"

They arrived, safe and sound, and headed to the table to register. A very well-dressed blonde woman, in her late thirties looked Betty up and down, then smiled a fake smile at the couple.

"You two are Mr. and Missus Meade? Wait, DANIEL MEADE? I cannot believe you have the nerve to show your stupid face here, mister, after all you put me through freshman year!"

"I'm sorry, uh...Candi, was it? I take it we knew each other?" This was exactly why Daniel had avoided such affairs in the past.

Luckily for him, just then, he got tackled , almost to the ground, and the woman began registering someone else, forgetting her greivance against Daniel.

"Daniel! I can't believe you actually showed up, you dog! You never come to these things! What the hell are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were gonna be here, we could have planned our assa...nice! Hello there, little lady! I don't believe we've met. I'm Becks."

Becks scrambled to stop wrestling with Daniel and smiled at Betty, raising his eyebrows as he grabbed her hand, kissing it, and grinning ear-to-ear. "Please don't tell me you're with THIS guy! You're gonna break my heart! And I'm an old man, now. I can't handle being rejected by such beautiful women. It's bad for my health. You're not from our class. You must have just graduated. Daniel, don't tell me you came here to hit on current students, you dirty old man!" He elbowed Daniel, never taking his eyes off Betty, who was blushing profusely at his come on.

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Are you done making an ass of yourself, Becks? This is my wife, Betty. You've met before. She used to work for me. But, now she's starting her own magazine company. Right after she uh...has the baby."

"The baby? What baby?" Betty looked at Daniel, who was trying to remind her that Claire had told people her new daughter-in-law was a few months pregnant.

Betty put her hand up to her face, as she remembered, then slid it down to her stomach, "Oh, right, the baby. Our baby. I'm two months pregnant." She looked at Daniel, questioningly, and he nodded.

"YOU are gonna be a daddy? Daniel Meade? Seriously, did hell just freeze over? Sorry, uh Betty, was it? Betty? Wait...you're THAT Betty? The one with the glasses and the...uh, Wow! You sure grew up. Hey, there, sweetie. Well, I'd try to talk you out of marrying this dummy IF I'd gotten an invitation!

I can't believe you didn't let me know, you jerk! I thought you told me we were gonna be each other's best man, buddy? What the F, huh? Sorry, Betty. Wow, I REALLY can't believe you actually got this idiot to tie the knot!"

"I didn't know you were going to be here, Becks. Listen, about the wedding, we, uh...sort of eloped. So, there wasn't a big thing, with brides' maids or a best man or any of that stuff, you know? I just woke up and said, 'hey, let's get married', and she actually agreed, so we ran off down to Cancun and next thing you know, we found out Betty was expecting, so, it's been kind of a whirlwind. I would have told you. I really didn't know you were going to be here, though."

"Yeah, I guess this means you can't be my wing man, but at least with you already taken, you won't cramp my style."

"No. Listen, it's great seeing you, again, Becks. We'll catch up tonight when we see you there. I think we should go get checked in at the hotel. Betty needs her rest."


	15. Chapter 15

**Lost on the Road**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!_

Chapter 15

_A/N: Daniel definitely gets his 'groove back', so be prepared for some of that 'bumpy ride' stuff we talked about earlier! (Not necessarily in a bad way)._

* * *

The ride back to the hotel was silent. "What the hell was that back there?" Daniel demanded, the minute they got back to their room.

"What was what? You mean, the woman yelling at you? You tell me! I assume you stood her up or did your usual bed 'em then forget 'em routine with her back in your freshman year. It's definitely a good thing Becks interrupted her when he did. You owe him big time. I was afraid she was going to..."

"Not THAT! I mean you, with Becks. You're always the same way every time you get near him, too. Normally, you're a perfectly intelligent, witty girl, but the minute he comes sniffing around you, you start babbling like an idiot, if you even get anything out at all. Do you really find him all that freaking hot or something? What's the deal? I can't believe you forgot about the pregnancy thing. What woman forgets she's supposed to be pregnant for God's sake?"

"Well, I'm sorry, I'm NOT really pregnant, and like I've told you before, I SUCK at lying. You know that. So do you, for that matter. We both do. And as for how I act around Becks, I...guess, yeah, I think he's pretty hot, alright! Are you happy? He gets me all flustered. He's just one of those kind of guys. I mean, I know he knows he's cute, but he's also kind of charming, and with the dimples..."

Daniel put his hand up, "All right, all right. Fine. You think he's dreamy. Whatever! I get it, Betty. Normally, I'd say, go for it. If you think he's so great, jump him, what do I care? But, unfortunately for this weekend, at least, your wagon's hitched to mine, remember? It doesn't look very convincing that you're married to me, if you're busy drooling all over him! So, do you think you could at least pretend you find ME moderately charming, please? I mean, IF you can take your eyes off him long enough to glance in my direction, that is. Sorry to cramp..."

Betty had crossed to him and she pulled him down by his tie to her level, then kissed him thoroughly, as she walked him towards the wall.

They kissed passionately for several minutes, getting more and more heated. She started taking off his tie, but it got caught around his neck.

He tried to help her with it, both of them laughing at themselves, but nonetheless undeterred in their haste to undress one another. Daniel started unbuttoning her blouse, quickly, ripping off a few buttons in the process. Betty for her part, ripped several of the buttons off his shirt, as well.

He almost tripped, getting his pants off, and as they continued their feverish kisses, he messed up the zipper on her skirt, and finally, in frustration, just ripped it off of her.

She stood, her eyes wide in shock at his move, not knowing what to do for a second, then they both laughed at their condition, him with his pants around his ankles, and his tie still stuck around his neck, but no shirt. Her, in her bra and panties, with her now ripped skirt on the floor.

She smiled, "So, I take it you're the jealous type, husband?"

He smiled, nodding, "Uh, yeah. I'd say so. Especially with you, Betty. I want you all to myself. I always have. You're Daniel's girl. And don't you forget it. I'll make you forget all about stupid Becks with his dimples and his lame pick up lines, believe me."

She shook her head and smiled, "Who's Becks?"

"That's my girl." He grinned, as he leaned down for another kiss, while he reached around her to unfasten her bra.

She wrapped her arms around his back, feeling his firm, smooth muscles, and asked, "You sure you're fully recovered? I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself, Daniel. "

"Only one way I know for sure to find out. Take him out on the road for a test drive. This time, you get to do the shifting."

She rolled her eyes, "Why did I know that was going to come up?"

He smirked, "Hey, I'm just thrilled to have my guy come up at all without any pain! And believe me, I WON'T be falling asleep this time. Do you need me to get you warmed up?

Now let's see, I do seem to recall you like a little bit of this..." he nibbled her neck, as he moved her hair aside, and slid his other hand down her back, caressing her, then slipped off the new silk panties he had bought for her.

He pushed her against the wall, and had no trouble whatsoever with Daniel's previous injury slowing them down.

As they both tried to even out their breathing, they looked at one another and started laughing. "Oh, my GOD!"

"Yeah! That's for sure. Damn, that was...that was, amazing, Betty."

He looked down, suddenly aware that he had forgotten that all important question, "Oh, uh...wow, I forgot, you ARE on..."

She caught his drift and nodded, "Oh, yeah. I am."

He grinned, "A little late to ask, I guess. Sorry. I got really carried away there. That's never happened before."

"Never? I find that hard to believe."

He shook his head. "Nope. I'm always very careful. That's why I was so shocked about DJ at first."

She nodded, "Well, I am, so, we're okay. Did you want to take a shower?"

"Sure! I might need a minute or two, though."

"I meant, by yourself."

"Oh, right. Sorry, I thought you meant...you know."

She bit her bottom lip, putting her hands on his chest. "I uh...wow, is this really weird? I mean, for us..."

He shook his head, and lifted her to him, kissing her gently, then pulling her closer. He carefully lowered her to the bed. "I don't think it's weird at all, Betty. I think it feels perfect. You're amazing, you know that?"

She blushed. "Thanks, Daniel. You're pretty amazing yourself. I guess...we _could_ take that shower together, if you want. I mean, you know, after a few minutes or whatever you need to uh...recover."

He began kissing her arm, and putting his hands all over her body, "I don't think I'm going to even need that long with you, honey."

"Honey?" She giggled, blushing.

He looked at her, somewhat surprised, "You're blushing NOW? What, because I called you honey? Uh, news flash, Betty, we did just make love, you know. So, I don't really think it's such a big deal for me to call you a pet name, do you?"

She shook her head, "No, I guess not. It just seems...so strange. I uh...oh, wow, keep doing that, please, Daniel. That feels...really...really...gooooood, mmmm..."

He grinned, nuzzling her neck and caressing her. "Oh, you like that, do you, baby?"

She smiled, "Honey AND baby? That's cute, Daniel."

He shrugged, "Well, hey, I don't expect you to call me any pet names, just try to remember mine and that you're supposed to be married to me and pregnant with my child when we're in public, if Becks starts sniffing around again, okay, MRS. Meade? Or I might just have to pull you aside for your own refresher course in how I handle _your_ curves." he kissed her.

She rolled on top of him, "Hmmm...maybe we should see how you do with a woman driving, _baby_."

He held onto her waist, raising his eyebrows in challenge, "Go for it. I'm up to the challenge, _honey._ I told you before, I don't mind one bit rolling around a bed, as long as we're doing it together. This is a lot softer than the floor." he ran his hands across her bottom.

She rolled her eyes, "I can't decide if that's a compliment or a criticism."

"Oh, it was most definitely a compliment, believe me, sweetie."

"Whoa, honey, baby, AND sweetie?" She teased.

"What can I say, _darling, _you bring out the sweet guy in me." He dropped a kiss on her shoulder as she leaned forward, and closed her eyes, finding he needed less time than she imagined for recovery.

As they both tried to catch their breath, Daniel shook his head, "God, that was intense! You...you... uh...yeah, sorry, it might just take my brain cells a minute or two to return!"

Betty nodded, "I know what you mean. I'm a little speechless, too. So, is this normal for you? Cause, I've got to tell you, I don't remember sex being this good before.

And I'm not just saying that to give you a big head. Not that you need one, anyway. I just...never mind. See what I mean? I know I'm not making much sense right now, either."

He held her face in his hands, looking up at her, "You're so beautiful, Betty. You know that? And to answer your question, no, this is most decidedly way, way beyond normal for me, too. I...uh...sorry, can't talk yet. Must...kiss you." She giggled slightly as he pulled her down for a slow, intense kiss.

"Uh, I think we need to start getting ready, Daniel."

He moaned, "Already? But we just got here. It can't be...oh, shit, you're right. We've been...uh. Whoa. Three hours, huh? I think that's a new record.

Congratulations, Mrs. Meade. You win the..." he flipped her over, onto her back quickly, making her giggle, as he tickled her, then gently grabbed her right breast, kissing it. "booby prize! Sorry, just kidding. I couldn't resist. These are...uh, really, really nice."

She blushed, slightly, then, grinned, "Just... nice?"

He laughed, "Sorry, I mean sexy. Your very, very...VERY sexy, Betty."

"Why thank you, _sweetie."_ She got up, trying to pull him with her, "But, like I said, we really need to get ready."

He raised his eyebrows, "Seeing you naked isn't going to encourage me to put any clothes ON, I hope you know."

She grabbed a sheet from the bed, taking her time to carefully move him aside, "No spinning, this time, I promise. We don't want to hurt your 'big guy' again, just after he got back his game."

She stood, wrapped in the sheet, pulling him by his hand to get up, "Come on, Daniel. We made it this far."

He got up, reluctantly at first, but looked down at her, and brushed aside her hair, kissing her briefly, and smiling at her as he whispered, "Yes, we did. Finally! It's about time, don't you think?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 16

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty_

_A/N: First, I want to say a big thank you to all my readers. You really rock! Every time I see another person listing one of my stories as a fav or following it, it makes me very happy. I could definitely use a little happy in my life right now. I"__m excited to see I have so many views of my stories. I'm honored so many of you have chosen to read my work. __Thank you from the bottom of my little Detty heart!_

_So, without further ado, here is the next installment of what I originally only planned as a 5 chapter story. I'm going to stop predicting. (What can I say, sometimes the characters lead me, not vice versa!) Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

_After a little 'playtime' in the shower, 'Mr. and Mrs. Meade' eventually were ready to head off to Daniel's re-union dinner and dance for the evening. _

"Daniel, we need to have a better proposal story." Betty informed him, as she finished brushing her hair. He came up behind her and zipped up her red dress that had wowed him so much. It still seemed to have quite an affect on him.

As he started to zip it up for her, he looked at her in the mirror and murmured, "Huh? Sorry, you distracted me, in this dress. I hope you know, I'm fighting all my instincts zipping it UP, instead of down! You look beautiful, by the way, _wife." _He smiled at her reflection, and holding her shoulders, he kissed her neck tenderly.

She shrunk her shoulders, somewhat shyly, "Thank you, Daniel. You make a very handsome husband, too! I like the black suit on you. Very sexy. You look really good in all black. Sort of a hot version of Johnny Cash! It definitely works on you. Of course, you look good in anything. Or...nothing." She turned around, straightening his tie, as she smiled up at him.

He smirked, "Why Betty Suarez, are you coming on to me? Now? We finally just got dressed."

She smoothed her hand across his shirt, and seemed to be considering, then sighed, looking up into those crazy, sexy blue eyes of his, trying to remember what she started talking about before he distracted her. "Daniel, stop distracting me. Somebody is going to ask how you proposed and some details would be nice.

Not too many details, though. That's what my sister always does when she lies about something and it makes it totally obvious that she's lying. But, we need to come up with a story about how you proposed, and both have it down, so it seems real."

"You're right. Women do want to hear about that stuff, don't they? Okay, so how do you want me to propose? Just make up your 'dream proposal' and that's what we'll say I did. I mean, nothing too crazy like doves singing and Disney characters dancing in a flash mob or whatever, like some cartoon. But, outside of animation, I'm willing to at least claim I made your dreams come true. What would you like, Betty?"

She blushed, "I don't know."

He looked down at her and smiled, holding her by her shoulders, "Come on, Betty. You're a woman. Don't tell me you've never thought about it. I know all women have their big fantasies about how their own version of Prince Charming or a knight in shining armor will come riding up on a white horse, or let me guess...a carriage, maybe, like Cinderella? Is that _your_ fantasy, Betty?"

She gave him a dirty look, "Are you making fun of me, Daniel? Saying I'm like a little girl?"

He shook his head, and lifted up her chin to kiss her, "No, I think you're adorable, Betty. I just want to honestly hear your fantasy proposal. So, I can at least pretend I made it come true for you."

She took a breath and got a dreamy look on her face, "Well, I guess, the carriage thing has entered my mind before, you're right. I don't know about the whole knight in armor thing, though. I think I've outgrown that or even the princess thing." She did have those fantasies with Henry, of course, but since they turned out to be such a bitter disappointment, it seemed like bad luck to put Daniel in that same kind of scenario.

She thought a minute, then smiled up at him, "I guess, we could say you sent a carriage for me, early in the morning, when there was no traffic to pick me up, and it took me to our bridge, and you were waiting there for me, in a tuxedo. Then you got on one knee and told me uh...that I was still better than any model and that...I don't know." She was clearly embarrassed to go any further in this scenario, thinking it was too close to home.

Daniel had started smiling and he took her hands, "Okay, so how about, I got on one knee and told you that I once said you were better than any model and it's still true. That I was done wasting my time with all my running around, because I had already found the best woman in the world, and that was you. You're the one I would swim the East River for in January, Betty. Will you marry me?"

She swallowed, looking into his eyes, "Yes."

She looked at him for a second, then recovering herself, she 'broke' the spell they both seemed to be under, "That's great, Daniel. That's uh, really good. It's very believable. We'll go with that. But, we need to get going, now."

Daniel shook himself somewhat, and smiled, "Let's go!" He put out his arm for her to hook hers through, thinking how far they both had come since he had done that for her, back when they did the fashion show together so long ago.

He couldn't help thinking how easy it had been for him to 'come up' with what he would say to her if he were really proposing. He felt like his insides were on fire, right now. As they got to the talk Betty had signed them up for, he tried to shake it off.

It seemed Betty had signed up for an academic presentation on Global markets called _Beauty Imagined _given by Geoffrey G. Jones, Isidor Straus Professor of Business History.

The brochure she had grabbed said, 'his talk will discuss highlights from Professor Jones's book on the global beauty industry from the 19th century to the present day. He explores how successive generations of entrepreneurs built brands that shaped perceptions of beauty worldwide.

They democratized access to beauty products, once the privilege of elites, but they also defined the gender and ethnic borders of beauty and its association with a handful of cities, notably Paris and, later, New York.

Today, globalization is changing the beauty industry again. Global brands have swept into China, Russia, and India, but at the same time, these brands are responding to a far greater diversity of cultures and lifestyles as new markets are opened up worldwide.

Daniel groaned, "You couldn't have signed us up for a seminar on football or something, Betty? I deal with women's fashions all day at work. But, I _am_ straight. I would actually enjoy something once in a while that reminds me that I'm a man."

She giggled, whispering, "Yes, I'm quite aware that you're straight, Daniel. Sorry, I just thought, since we sort of needed to at least put in an appearance at one of these seminars, this one would be the most likely to have the women you want to have see you as the happily married man, plus, given the fact of your job as Editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine, it seemed to fit that demographic the best, as well."

He looked at her, clearly impressed with how much thought she had put into her decision, "Oh. Okay. That sounds reasonable, I guess. Good work, Betty. Alright, so let's go act happily married."

She shook her head, "Exactly what did you have in mind for that?"

He grinned, whispering, "Well, I guess we _could_ have sex here, but that would probably just make it seem like I was married to somebody else and we were having an affair."

She giggled, "Daniel, you're so bad! We could just...oh, I know, we could pretend to pick out baby names or talk about moving out of your loft, into a bigger house, or getting a mini van. Stuff like that."

He nodded, looking impressed, "That's great! That's all stuff a newlywed couple expecting their first kid would say. God, you're really good at this, Betty. Let's not think of it as lying, and maybe we won't both have so much trouble. Let's think of it more as 'playing make-believe', like a game or something."

She smiled somewhat sadly, "That was one of my mom's favorite musicals."

"What was?"

"_Showboat_. It had Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson. They sang a song to each other called make-believe. She was one of those really high sopranos and he had a really sexy, deep baritone, almost bass voice. My mom used to go around singing it sometimes. It was from the fifties, I think. It also had Eva Gardner. Although, I don't know if she did her own singing or not."

Daniel looked somewhat bored, "Musicals, really? Okay, whatever, Betty. I guess it's an improvement over Disney. My point is, if we try not to get hung up on the fact that we're lying, maybe we won't both suck at it so much. Sound like a plan?"

She nodded, smiling, "It sounds like a good idea, Daniel."

They quietly slipped in the back of the room, where Professor Jones was speaking, and after trying to listen for fifteen minutes, Daniel started nibbling on her ear, and whispered, "I'm so bored. This guy's going to put me to sleep. I wish we were back in the hotel room. I don't have to imagine beauty. I've got my beauty right here."

She blushed, "Aww, that's really sweet, Daniel. But, cut it out, you're making me blush."

He grinned, "I know. I love making you blush, Betty. You're adorable."

He kissed her neck, running his hands down her shoulders.

"You two are definitely not married! Look at you, you can't keep your hands off each other. I thought all that stuff died the minute you said 'I do'!"

"Becks! What the hell are you doing here?" Daniel gave his old friend a somewhat annoyed look.

Becks shrugged and nodded towards a tall, beautiful red-head at the front of the room, listening to the professor. "I'm tracking her. She thought she gave me the slip earlier. But, I bribed the chick at the registration desk to show me what she signed up for and I followed her hear."

Daniel shook his head, thinking _same old Becks!_

Betty heard him and offered, "Why don't you read this brochure, and ask her a question about the effects of changing global markets and how they apply to the access of the masses to beauty products. See if she understands what you're talking about. If she does, she's probably not your type. You might want to go for a girl who has trouble spelling big words like globalization."

Becks grinned, "Ouch! Okay. I get it, Betty. You think I only date stupid girls. I can get smart girls, too. Hell, if this knucklehead can get you, I've got a shot at a brainy chick, too."

Betty rolled her eyes, "Not if you say things like 'brainy _chick_', you don't."

Daniel took a deep breath, looking back and forth at them. "Look, Becks. You know what, never mind. Happy hunting. Betty, come on, I want to go ahead and get a good seat at the dinner. Let's get out of here. This guy is way too boring for me, anyway. Good luck with the red-head, Becks."

Becks waved and nodded, looking up at the girl, and reading over the brochure Betty had handed him.

Daniel pulled Betty out and once they got into the hallway, he was quiet and somewhat sullen. She bit her lip, "I'm sorry, Daniel. Was I not supposed to talk to him? Are you really THAT jealous? Wow, that's kind of cute. I think I like you being so jealous. It means you care." She smiled.

He pulled her to him, but was clearly annoyed, "Of course I care! But, what the hell, Betty! I guess, at least you didn't babble like an idiot this time. Unfortunately, you sounded very clever and witty. He's just going to take that as a challenge, though, you know. Because you called him on his shit."

He got their car and they made their way to the dinner-dance. The way there, they continued their 'argument'.

"Daniel, you're being ridiculous. He thinks we're married, remember? He's not going to hit on his best friend's pregnant wife! Not even Becks is that degenerate. Is he?"

He took a breath, "No. You're right. I guess not. I'm sorry. I'm just used to having to compete with both him and Alex for women. I'm just being paranoid."

She laughed, "Well, you definitely don't have to compete with Alex over women anymore, that's for sure. And I have a feeling your taste in women and Becks is vastly different nowadays, too."

He kissed her cheek, "I'm not so sure about that. He was checking you out, Betty. Still, keep an eye out for the guy. You're NOT dancing with him tonight, I hope you know!"

She giggled, "Yes, sir! Wow, you're kind of a demanding husband, Daniel. Even more than you are as a boss. Well, except for that first week. The first time you ask me to make you cole slaw as your wife, I want a divorce!"

He smiled, "No. I promise, no cole slaw, sweetie."

"Oh, are we back to the pet names now? Okay, schmoopy."

He made a face, "Schmoopy? You may NOT call me THAT, Betty! It sounds like a dog or something. How about baby? I liked it when you called me that. It was sexy."

She shrugged, "I don't know. I kind of like... pooky. It has a nice ring to it."

"Shut up. I'm not playing this game. Pooky? Seriously?"

"Bunny? I still have pictures of you in the costume."

"You're mean, sometimes. You know that, Betty?"

She laughed, holding him around the waist, and resting her head against his chest as they arrived inside the beautifully decorated room.

Betty looked around at the chandeliers and gorgeous tables, with their huge floral centerpieces, candles, and roped beads. The amber glow of the lighting made everything and everyone there look like it was bathed in a soft lens. Betty thought to herself, _older women, trying to still look their best!_

Daniel seemed to be reading her thoughts, just as she often read his, as he bowed his head to her, and kissed her, sweetly, whispering, "You know, these women are all going to hate you, Betty. Not only did you snag me, but you're over a decade younger than all of them! You're probably going to be the only woman here who has her own original boobs and facial expressions that move."


	17. Chapter 17

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 17

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!_

After admiring the beautiful décor, Daniel and Betty saw the orchestra had already started playing. He kissed her on the cheek and whispered, "Wait here,I'll be right back, and we can dance until it's time to eat or our feet get tired, whichever comes first, okay?"

She nodded, feeling a little out of her element, but trying to tell herself,_ Betty, you're an attractive, confident woman, and you can do this! You're just as good as anyone else here. Daniel wants you here. You belong. You're NOT ugly Betty!_

"_Boo!"_

Betty swung around, opening her eyes from repeating her little mantra in her head to see Becks, grinning, as he and the red-head from earlier were dancing. "Oh, hey, Becks." She turned to the red-head, "Hello, my name is Betty Suarez. I don't believe we've met."

"Suarez? Don't you go by Meade, now? Or is it Suarez-Meade or something?" Becks turned to his companion, "She just married my best friend, Daniel Meade. But they're still newlyweds. I think the guy's got her all flustered. They're sickening, really. I caught them making out in the back of the seminar earlier. Oh, and is it okay to say, Betty? They're expecting, too. Maybe that's it. She's got baby brain."

"Excuse me?"

The woman stuck out her hand to Betty, "I'm Naomi Jackson. Good to meet you, Betty."

"You, too. I saw you at the seminar. It was really interesting. Well, what I got to listen to, anyway. Daniel got bored and I think he must have been hungry. He kept saying he wanted to come here to eat."

"That's because we worked up such an appetite earlier, sweetie. Hey, Becks. Who's the lovely lady and what's she doing with you? Is she doing volunteer work or something? She must be a social worker who felt sorry for you."

"This guy thinks he's charming. Daniel, this is Naomi Jackson. Naomi, darlin, this is my FORMER best friend, Daniel Meade, Betty's worse half."

"Hey, Naomi. Nice to meet you. My condolences. Try not to encourage him. He really is that cheesy, I'm afraid. Well, sorry, you two, but I need to go make out with my wife some more. Take care, you two."

As Daniel led Betty away she shook her head, "You two are ridiculous. Do you normally talk like that, or was that just for Naomi's and my benefit?"

He shrugged, "A little of both. So, I guess you're all heartbroken cause you're dream guy went and hooked up with that red-head he was stalking, now, huh, Betty?" he teased.

She hit his arm, "Cut it out, Daniel. I was mostly just trying to make you jealous before when I said how cute he was. I had no idea you'd take me so seriously. He's kind of a goofball, actually. Definitely not my type.

I did almost slip in front of him, though. I started to introduce myself as Betty Suarez. That's another thing I should just have down cold, I suppose. I guess, since I did that, I can say I'm going by Suarez-Meade."

He nodded, "Sure, whatever. That's up to you, Mrs. Suarez-Meade. Although, I have been trying to get you used to just Mrs. Meade. I've been calling you that a lot, actually, Betty. Are you sure you didn't just get all ga-ga over your lover-boy again?"

She rolled her eyes, "Daniel, I already slept with you...several times in fact. If that doesn't prove to you I don't have a thing for Becks, I don't know what will."

He crooked his index finger for her to follow him as he led her into an empty coat room. "I know one way you can show me right now, Betty."

She looked around. "You're not...serious, Daniel. Are you? Oh, my God, you are!"

He pulled her into the room with him, then locked the door, and grinned, "Finally! I couldn't wait to get you alone. I got grabbed on my way to the bathroom earlier by an old girlfriend and I told her I was married and an expectant father. I'm so glad I have you with me, Betty. I like having you as a wife."

She smirked, "Aww, poor baby! Do you have too many of these old ladies hitting on you?"

"Well, I wouldn't call them old, really, Betty. They're my age...oh, funny! Ha, ha! Making fun of the old guy, huh? We'll see about that, little girl! Come here, I'll show you how little difference ten years makes."

"Eleven."

He backed her against the wall, next to a coat rack, "Doesn't matter. You're still mine, Suarez." He leaned down to kiss her.

She giggled, "That's Suarez-Meade, remember Daniel?"

He rolled his eyes, as he continued to attack her neck and shoulders, "Of course. How could I forget? How silly of me! Sorry, schmoopy!"

Later in the evening, as they were dancing, the orchestra began playing 'I've Got You, Babe'. Betty looked at him, as he grinned. "When did you do that? When I thought you went to the bathroom and you almost got grabbed by the ex-girlfriend?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

She smiled, "That's sweet, Daniel. So, have you seen some of these women we're supposed to be convincing of your domesticity yet, so we can put on our little show for them? My feet hurt. We pregnant ladies shouldn't be on our feet so much, anyway, you know?"

He got her drift, "Oh, damn, you're right! And don't forget and drink anything. I'm sorry, Betty. I didn't realize how limiting that little lie of my mom's would be to you this weekend, having to pretend you're pregnant."

She shrugged, "That's okay. I'll just get drunk in the room when we're alone, _if_ I feel like drinking. I'm not that big a drinker, though, Daniel. So, it's really no big deal."

He held her face in one hand and kissed her. "You look so pretty tonight."

She blushed. "Thank you. You're quite a smooth talker, Daniel. I can't believe you talked me into doing what we did in the coat room earlier."

He grinned, "Well, there wasn't much talking involved, really. I have other ways of convincing you that are much more effective."

"I noticed." she rolled her eyes, smiling at him.

When 'their song' finished playing, they went to sit down, as the food was being served.

As they were eating, they each fed each other and found themselves laughing and enjoying themselves.

Daniel grinned at her as she enjoyed the dessert, "You know, I always loved your yummy noises all these years. But, I never realized they were the same as your uh... sex noises. Now I know."

She turned red, "You do the same thing, Daniel."

"I do not!"

"Yes, you do, schmoopy!" They both started laughing when she called him her pet name.

"Shut up, pooky!"

A tall, blonde with a red dress very similar to Betty's came and stood next to Daniel. He quickly recovered himself and got a somewhat anxious look on his face, as he wiped his mouth with his napkin, and took a drink.

"Hey, Brenda. How's it going? Long time no see. Uh, Brenda Melner; this is my wife, Betty. Betty, Brenda is a cardiologist, right?"

The woman narrowed her gaze at Daniel, and looked somewhat kindly towards Betty, extending her hand, "Yes, no thanks to you, Daniel. Hello, Betty. I'm glad to meet you. What Daniel is failing to tell you is that, because of him, I almost got kicked out of Harvard Medical School, for helping him pass anatomy his sophomore year here.

One of his many jealous ex's got wind that I was helping him and told the dean I was cheating, slipping Daniel the answers to tests, which I wasn't. I just helped him study. But, meanwhile, I was put on academic probation for a semester, while he and his daddy's money got off, Scott-free!

Then, to top it off, he never even called me again, he just moved onto the next girl! Just thought you'd like to know what kind of guy you married! Nice to see you, Danny!" She threw a drink in his face as she walked away.

As Betty helped him wipe off the drink with her napkin, Daniel shook his head, "Wow, this is going to be fun! This is like 'this is your life!' See how many girls you pissed off in college. I knew it was going to be tough, but after that thing with Grace Chin, I thought, maybe it would be good for me to face some of these women and apologize in person for how I treated them. But, hell, they're not going to even listen to me try, I guess.

I suppose I don't blame her. I did just use her to pass that class. I swear, though, Betty, I didn't know anything about her getting into trouble. I didn't even know my old man greased the wheels for me, either. I did avoid her calls after we broke up, though. She might have been trying to tell me about it. I feel terrible now."

"Well, don't tell me, go tell her. I'll wait. Just make sure she doesn't have anything more dangerous than a drink in her hand." She smiled.

Daniel kissed her cheek, "Okay, I'll be right back."

After several minutes, Daniel came back, grinning.

"So? How did it go? Did you convince her you've reformed from your evil womanizing ways?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I think so. I told her that I was a big jerk and I didn't know how much trouble she got in, but I was really sorry. Then I told her about you and how much meeting you had encouraged me to change. She actually listened and even hugged me and said she forgave me."

Betty noticed how much he was smiling, "So, do you feel pretty good about apologizing?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I actually do feel pretty good. Oh, shit!" He looked like he wanted to hide under the table as a group of four women, walking together headed for their table. The woman in the middle, a short, slender woman with glasses and graying dark hair led the 'pack' and stopped in front of Betty and Daniel.

She extended her hand to Betty, "Hello, you must be Daniel's wife, everyone's talking about. I'm Cindy Griffin, the organizer of this re-union. These are my committee members, Andrea Morton, Christie Davidson, and Michelle Kelsey. I'm sorry, what was your first name, Mrs. Meade?"

"Betty. It's nice to meet you all. Everything is really lovely. And the seminar we attended was excellent. Professor Jones' is a wonderful speaker. The dinner is amazing and so is the orchestra. You should be very proud. I know these kinds of things are certainly not easy to pull together."

"You work?" It was said with a note of disdain and almost surprise. "Daniel, why are you making your poor wife work in her delicate condition? Sorry, dear, I heard through the grapevine about your happy news. Congratulations! When are you due?"

The woman put her hand on Betty's stomach. Betty looked at Daniel, and he mouthed, "Sorry".

The woman looked at him, "You, two, Daniel. It's a miracle this is your first, I suppose."

"I'm sorry, have we met? You have me at a disadvantage, Cindy, was it?" Daniel barely hid his annoyance at the woman's rude behavior.

The woman turned almost crimson, "Daniel Meade! You're going to tell me you don't remember me? I was your tutor all through junior year in financial accounting! Tuesdays and Thursdays."

He narrowed his eyes, squinting at her, "Cindy! Oh, right! Of course, now I remember. Sorry, I almost didn't recog...it's been a long time. Fifteen years, you know. So, how have you been? Did you become an accountant, or something? A CPA?"

She looked at him as if he must be joking. "Well, I did obtain my license, yes. But, I don't use it, of course. I'm Mrs. Robert Winton now. Robert's firm is one of the leading Boston law firms. So, I'm far too busy running our household and taking care of our two children to work now."

"Oh, that sounds great, Cindy. Congratulations. I'm sorry, I don't get out of New York much anymore. I've sort of lost touch with all the big who's who in the Boston area, I'm afraid.

"How are the rest of you, ladies this evening? Like my wife said, everything here looks great. You all did a fantastic job."

"Daniel? You don't remember me, either?" A tall, brunette, with very taut-looking skin and wearing extremely heavy make-up, along with a dress that was far too low-cut for her over zealous use of a push-up bra.

"Um...Andrea? I do remember you, but I'm trying to think what classes we had together."

"None. We dated for all of a week, before you stood me up."

Daniel drew a deep breath, and handed her his champagne, "Here, do you want to do the honors, or should I just stand here and let you all take turns slapping me? Look, ladies, I'm absolutely sure I was a complete jerk to all of you in one way or another. All I can say, is...I've changed. Or at least, I'm trying to change for the better.

I know that doesn't excuse my past behavior, but unfortunately, there's really no way I can go back and undo what I've already done. But, thanks to Betty, I see that people can change if they want to and they can choose not to be so selfish. So, do your worst, if it will bring you some kind of closure. I promise, I won't even fight back.

I still consider myself the luckiest guy here, since I get to go home to my beautiful, sweet, kind bride here. I know I don't deserve her, after the way I used to behave."

Michelle, a short, somewhat curvier woman with reddish blonde hair stepped forward, and smiled, "Aww...that's actually really sweet, Daniel. So, Betty, right? How did he propose?"


	18. Chapter 18

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 18

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!_

* * *

"He said that? Wow...he really has changed! That's not at all like the Daniel Meade I remember." Andrea sighed rather dreamily, seeming greatly softened in her attitude toward Daniel, after listening to Betty tell the 'story' she and Daniel had agreed on for his proposal, then answering more questions about their elopement from the four women.

"So, why did you decide to elope? You weren't already pregnant, were you?" No-nonsense Cindy blurted out.

"NO! Uh, I'm only a few months along." Betty was trying not to sweat, but she hated lying and definitely was uncomfortable getting pinned down on details of their lies. She knew it was coming, but it didn't make her enjoy this very scrutinizing little circle of women surrounding her any more. She felt cut off from Daniel's support as they continued to question her about the relationship.

He seemed to sense her silent cry for help, and reached in to pull Betty by the hand towards him,

"Ladies, if you'll excuse us, I promised my wife we'd dance as much as possible tonight, since she's afraid we won't have the opportunity again once she's further along in the pregnancy. "

"You mean, you don't go out clubbing anymore?" Christie asked.

He shook his head, "No, we're usually more homebodies lately. We go out of course, but I worry going to a lot of clubs in New York, especially in her condition. She gets claustrophopic, right pookie?" he smiled at Betty. She just nodded, going along, as he continued to pull her away from the group of women and onto the dance floor.

"Goodnight ladies. It's been really great to see everybody again and...thanks for not pouring pig's blood on me or anything tonight."

"Awww...isn't that sweet?" "Did you see how much he dotes on her?" "That is a totally different man!" The women were busily whispering to one another in seeming shock at the transformation in Daniel since his college days.

As soon as they got back on the dance floor, Betty shook her head, "Thanks, Daniel! I was starting to feel like I was at the Spanish Inquisition there with that Cindy, especially. Now, I forgot, she's the one who's married to the big Boston lawyer, right? Which I guess would explain why she sounded like she was cross-examining me! How did I do? I'm sweating buckets!"

He laughed, and kissed her forehead, "You did great, Betty. I'm proud of you. Hell, I was even carried away with all the little details you put in our fake whirlwind elopement story! That was great! Very romantic.

I liked it when you said the gypsy we ran into outside the airport when we first landed in Cancun gave us a blessing in Spanish, but you didn't know for sure what it meant until we got back home and you got your sister to translate it for you. That was a nice touch! I was getting engrossed in your story myself!"

She smiled, "Oh, my gosh, I was totally freaking out, making it up as I went along. I had no idea what I was even saying half the time. You don't think I added too many details, like Hilda always does? Was it still believable?"

He smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Definitely. I'd totally believe we were really in love and happily married."

She blushed as he spun her, then whispered, "Get ready to dip." He dipped her, and brought her back up to him, flushed. He grinned, "This reminds me of Hilda's wedding. As I recall, you danced your little feet off that night. I can't imagine how sore yours must have been, wearing those heels. Mine hurt for the next day and a half, just wearing regular shoes!"

She laughed, "Yeah, I had to soaked mine in hot water for an hour. But...it was totally worth it. I had a good time. It was fun."

"Yeah, it was, wasn't it? It's funny; I think that's the closest thing to a real date we've had since our all night bridge date. Which obviously made as big an impression on you as it did me."

She looked away, "Why do you say that?"

"Maybe because you used it for what your idea of the perfect proposal would be."

"Oh, that." She shrugged, trying to avoid looking directly into his eyes, afraid he might see too much.

"Yeah, that. Betty? Uh, you are eventually going to look at me, aren't you?" He lifted up her chin and he could see her eyes were somewhat glossy, but she bit her lip and looked away again, still trying to avoid his direct gaze. Finally, he led her off the dance floor, and held her face with both hands, forcing her to look at him,

"What is it, Daniel?"

"How about...you tell me what you're thinking about us being together, Betty? When we get back to New York, after this trip is over, I don't want to go back to being 'just friends', do you? Do you want to see where this goes with us?"

She nodded slowly, speechless, "Mmhmm."

"I'll take that as a yes."He smiled, and leaned forward to kiss her, then hugged her, and led her back to the floor. They continued dancing for several more songs. Daniel rested his cheek on top of her head, closing his eyes.

A very tall, thin, woman in her late fifties, dressed in an extremely low-cut black dress, and wearing five inch heels, making her well over six feet tall walked toward the couple, and tapped Daniel on the shoulder. He startled somewhat.

"Huh? Oh, hello, Mrs. Hanselman. How are you doing these days? It's nice to see you. My mom said to tell you hello if we saw you. Uh, Penny Hanselman, this is my wife, Betty. Betty, Mrs. Hanselman and her husband were good friends of my mom and dad's years ago and she was my uh piano teacher for a few years, before she and her family moved to Boston. Her son and I were roommates here for a semester, too."

Betty extended her hand, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Hanselman. Always glad to meet a friend of Claire's."

Daniel smiled, thinking that was a nice touch for Betty to remember NOT to call his mom Mrs. Meade, like she usually did.

"Please, dear, call me Penny. Daniel here always did. So did all of Trent's friends from school."

"Of course, Penny. So, do you still have any family in New York? Or is everyone here now?"

"Well, my son is living all the way out in LA, with his wife and three children. It's just me, now. I have my friends here, and my charity work, of course, to occupy my time, since Tom passed away last year."

"Oh, I...hadn't heard. At least, if Mom told me, I don't remember. I'm sorry for your loss, Penny. Tell Trent I'm sorry. I lost my dad, too. I guess you heard."

"Yes, well, of course Bradford's death was in all the news. I sent Claire my condolences at the time, but really, what can you say? They were together a long time, I know. So were Tom and I. On a happier note, I hear double congratulations are in order for you two.

I guess it's far too early to know the baby's sex, yet. Let me know where you're registered for baby gifts. I can't believe Claire didn't have a fit when you eloped, Daniel! She didn't even get to help Betty here to plan a nice, big wedding? How cruel of you two!"

Daniel seemed to Betty to be somewhat uncomfortable, He squeezed her hand. She tried to think of a way for them to escape. She put her hand on her stomach, and made a face, "Oh, Daniel, I'm sorry to interrupt, honey, but I feel really sick to my stomach. I think I need to go back to the hotel and lie down for a while. I know I insisted on us dancing a lot, but I think I may have overdone it a bit. So nice to meet you, Penny. Goodnight!"

As soon as they got to the car, Daniel looked like he was wiping sweat off his forehead.

"Thanks, Betty. Now, I owe YOU one! I couldn't wait to get away from her!"

Once they were inside, Betty looked at him, "Okay, Daniel. Spill. You were acting really nervous and weird around that friend of your mom's. What's the deal?"

He shook his head, "Nothing. She just... bugs me, that's all. She's so two-faced. So many of the women my mom thought were her friends were all such phonies. Practically none of them bothered to ask her how she was after Dad died, and she got NO support during her trial. They were all supposedly on her side while Dad was alive, and cheating on her with Fey and all the others. Half of them told her to leave him, she was better off without him; the other half told her to just look the other way, because without him, she didn't have the same social standing or whatever bullshit they're all into! With friends like hers, no wonder she started drinking!"

Betty listened, sympathetically, but narrowed her eyes, "What are you not telling me, Daniel? You didn't really answer my question as to what it was about that Penny woman specifically that 'bugs' you. Did she cheat with your dad or something?"

"Not exactly."

"What does that mean, Daniel?"

"Nothing. It means, I don't know. I doubt it. It's no big deal, Betty. She's just a big phony, like the rest of them, that's all. I can't stand her; I never could. She never was all that nice to Mom. She flirted with Dad and Alex and...me like crazy."

"You? You and Alex? But you said you went to school with her son...was it just flirting?"

He shrugged, clearly not comfortable talking about it. She put her hand on top of his, "Daniel, come on, it's me. Whatever it is, you can tell me, you know."

He looked away, but mumbled, "She was ridiculous, Betty. She used to come to my piano lessons wearing these super low cut tops and mini skirts and she'd act completely inappropriately in front of Alex and me if our parents weren't there. Then, she put on an act when they were.

She'd laugh at us and tease us. And especially when it was just me and her, she really poured on the Mrs. Robinson act, trying to well, seduce me, I guess. Finally, I told my mom I wanted to quit taking piano lessons, although I was always too embarrassed to tell her why. I knew even then she was nuts. I thought I'd never have to see her again when they moved here.

Then, when I found out Trent was my roommate, I flipped. You couldn't tell him his mom was a total cougar or whatever. He didn't want to hear it. So, every time she came to see him, I made sure I had somewhere else to go.

I don't know if she remembers it or not, since she was drunk a lot of the time. I always felt sort of sorry for her husband. He seemed completely oblivious. I doubt if she ever did anything with my dad. She seemed more interested in guys half her age. Tom was about fifteen years younger than her, I think."

"Yet, he died first."

"Yeah. She probably wore him out."

"Daniel! I'm so sorry. Wow, no wonder you don't like her. She sounds like a total predator."

He shook his head, "Yeah, well, she's definitely a piece of work. Thanks for the rescue."

She smiled, "Well, I owed you from before. So, now, we're even, I guess."

"Sounds like a good partnership. I save you; and you save me."

They arrived back at the hotel, talking about their night. As Daniel put the key in the door, he leaned one hand over the doorway, and got very close to her face, "So...should I order some champagne to be sent to our room? Maybe some strawberries and chocolate? We could have a little snack, watch a movie in our room and drink champagne. Maybe talk about the future."

She giggled, "Sounds interesting. Are you coming on to me, Mr. Meade?"

He nodded, smiling and getting even closer, "Oh, I most _definitely_ _am_ coming on to you, '_Mrs_. Meade'."


	19. Chapter 19

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 19

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!_

"Are you sure you're not cheating?" Daniel asked, as they played their second game of travel scrabble Betty had brought for their little 'road trip'.

She looked slightly insulted, "Please, I never cheat. Well, at least not at scrabble. Not to sound too cocky, but I don't have to. I'm just that good!" She said, smiling, confidently.

Although Daniel had been ready to take things a little more in the romance department, he could sense Betty's hesitance. A by-product of knowing the woman you were with for four years so well that you could sense her every little glance and sigh.

So, he had taken things slow, ordering the food and champagne and simply taking off his jacket and tie, and shoes, and ordering some movies, while they played scrabble.

He put up his feet, and got cozy, just waiting until Betty felt comfortable enough to let him know what was bothering her. But she had seemed flirty and certainly interested in continuing their fun times earlier, so he decided to just go slow and see how things went.

He looked at the bucket, where the champagne he had ordered sat, chilling, "I think this should be cool enough, now, don't you? Shall I do the honors, Betty?"

She nodded, "Go for it. That looks like awfully expensive champagne, Daniel!"

He shrugged, popping off the cork, "For you, my dear, only the best!" Betty quickly stuck the glasses under the flowing fountain that spewed out of the bottle. "Whoa, thanks! That had a lot more oomph to it than I expected." He took one of the glasses and lifted it up to toast with hers, "To us, Betty."

She smiled, "To us, Daniel." she gulped it down, somewhat quickly, then her eyes popped, slightly. "Wow, that's really strong!"

He smiled, "Yeah. The really good stuff always is. Take it easy next time. I'm not trying to get you drunk here, you know. In fact, I think I'd prefer you sober tonight." He took a sip of his drink and put down his glass.

Betty smiled nervously, but poured herself another glass and held it up, then drank it, a bit more slowly this time, and gulped, "Mmm...it's really good."

He nodded, but took the glass from her and put it down on the table, along with his own. "Thanks, but I'm not really in the mood for getting drunk on champagne, are you, Betty?"

She shrugged, shaking her head, "I guess not. Did you want to play another game? Best three out of five? I'll spot you the first word."

He grinned, "Wow, you're really nervous, aren't you, Betty? I don't really get why, though. I mean, you DID come onto me first, before. We've already slept together, several times, in fact, and even managed a not-so-quickie in the coat room earlier, so I don't understand why you're acting nervous now, all of a sudden?"

She shook her head, backing away from him, "No reason. I just...nothing."

"It's not _nothing_, Betty. Something's up with you. What is it? Did one of those women tonight say something to upset you? I'm sorry. Look, everything they said was true, okay? I WAS an absolute jerk to them. I know I was. WAS being the operative word, here, though. You've changed me, honey. Honestly. That part of tonight wasn't a lie. I know I'm far from perfect still, but I am a different man now, thanks to you. At least, I'd like to think so. I'm not that guy anymore.

The one who sleeps around and doesn't ever call the girl again once he...oh, my God, that's what this is about, isn't it, Betty? You really think I'm going to do that, to you? Forget your number, not return your calls? I promise you, that's NOT at all the way this is going to go, okay? Please don't think that for a minute!" He pulled her towards him, and lifted up her face, close to his, "Did you really think that, Betty?"

She looked down, then gazed steadily into his eyes, "I didn't WANT to think that, Daniel. But..."

He sighed, "But, you've never seen me NOT do that, have you? Well, except for a very few times, Sofia, Molly, and maybe Renee. But, Betty, don't you get it? I don't want to be that version of myself anymore. I hate how I acted then. I hated what I did to those women.

That's one of the reasons I decided to come here this weekend, to make my peace with them and feel like I had tried to apologize, so I could move forward with at least a slightly clearer conscience. So, maybe you and I...would have a chance to start over, with a clean slate. This wasn't all about helping my mom's standing. Especially since she could care less what any of those women thought." He looked rather embarrassed.

"Really? Was this all an evil plot by your mom to get us alone, pretending to be married and..."

He smirked, "Betty, you've known my mom almost as long as you've known me. Has she EVER worried about what ANYBODY thought of her? Yeah, it was definitely her plan to well, help me, I guess, get you alone and get us together in a way that would kind of force us to act more like a couple, and not just you still acting like my assistant or something."

"I see. Well, I suppose, mission accomplished, huh?"

"That depends. I mean, my 'mission' here wasn't just to get you into bed with me, Betty. I have plans for a lot more serious relationship for us than just a one night stand or a long weekend fun time in the bedroom, believe me. I would never expect to just...do that. Not with you. You mean so much more than that. You mean...God, I don't know quite how to say this right.

I don't want it to sound cheesy

or rehearsed. I hated how goofy I sounded in that letter I wrote for you for YETI. And the thing I said for your Bloby award? I know I sounded like such an idiot. All that stuff about being a force of nature!"

She smiled, "Well, I was kind of worried you were going to bring up Tornado Girl at first when you said that."

He pulled her closer by her waist and reached up to brush aside a strand of hair, then leaned his head against hers, breathing in with her. "I want to say this just right, Betty. I guess you probably could figure it out by now, but I think...I mean, I'm pretty sure that I must...well, I _know_ I must be in love with you." He slowly lifted his head to meet her rather shocked gaze.

She put both her hands on his chest. "You are?" He put his hands on top of hers, and nodded, "Mmhmm."

She grinned at him, "You are?" He looked somewhat embarrassed, but looked her squarely in the eyes, "Yes, Betty. I am."

"You are in love with ME?"

"Yeah. Do you want me to tattoo it on my forehead or something? Why is it so hard for you to believe?"

"Well, I don't know about a tattoo, but I wouldn't mind hearing it again. Just to be sure I heard you correctly." She said, somewhat teasingly.

He rolled his eyes, knowing she was deliberately 'messing' with him, now, so he started walking her backwards till he had her up against the wall, "Fine, Betty. Whatever you want. I, Daniel Meade, being of sound mind and body, at least as far as I know, no signs of cult-following or bead-wearing, or beard growing craziness that I'm aware of, do hereby affirm that I am completely, absolutely and gratefully in love with you, Beatriz, right? Beatriz, wow, I almost said Meade. Freudian slip. I mean, Beatriz Suarez. Is that good enough for you?" He had both hands on either side of her and he stood only inches away from her face.

She giggled slightly, "I didn't mind the beard, but oh, God, yes, the beads, Daniel..."

He nodded, "Right, because YOU have such great fashion sense, Miss Poncho-girl!"

"HEY! That was four years ago! Don't I get any credit for growing and improving? I'm more than just poncho-girl or brace face or girl with the glasses."

"I don't mind your glasses, either. I think their kind of cute, Betty. I'll let you wear them sometimes if I can grow out the beard once in a while."

She nodded, "Maybe in the winter?"

He stroked the side of her face, "Okay. So, uh, now that I've bared my soul to you, how do YOU feel about me, poncho-girl?"

"Daniel!" He laughed. "Just kidding, sweetie. I couldn't resist. I love how cute you get when you're all red! You've always kind of turned me on when you blushed, you know. So...Betty? What's the verdict for how you feel about me?"

She stammered, somewhat, "You know me, Daniel. Am I the type of girl to do...what we just did with a man I didn't-feel that way about?"

"Well, no, I guess not, but...that doesn't exactly answer my question, Betty."

"I feel the same way about you, Daniel. I mean, I honestly haven't been really _thinking _about my love life lately. Since Matt left, I've been trying to decide what I wanted to do about my career more than anything, since love hasn't been my strong suit up till now.

In fact, I sort of wanted to tell you about an e-mail I got from Lindsay Dunne. But, I didn't know what to tell him, so...I just kind of figured I'd decide for sure this weekend. Then, you asked me to come with you, and things just started moving so fast."

He pulled her down, to sit on his lap, on the bed. "Lindsay Dunne? You told me you interviewed for a writing job for him when you were in London, but didn't take it. What was the email about? Is he trying to get you to re-consider?"

No, not exactly. He...said he wants to talk to me next week when he's in New York. He asked if I was happy at Mode, though."

"Really? You think he...is going to offer you something in England?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

He shifted uncomfortably, "Me? Why are you asking me, Betty? I'm only the guy who just confessed to being in love with you. Why would I care if you left New York to move to another country? It's none of my business, is it? You're not really my wife. You don't have to ask my opinion."

He started to try and move away, but she shook her head, and held his face in her hands, still sitting on his lap. "Yes, I do have to ask your opinion, Daniel. Yours is the only opinion that really matters to me right now, in fact."

He didn't try to hide how hurt he was, "Why would you care what I think so much?"

She whispered, "Because, you stupid man, I'm in love with you, too. Couldn't you tell? Like I said, do you think I come onto guys and have sex in coat rooms and showers and all over the bedroom with guys I just sort of like a LITTLE or something? What kind of a girl do you think I am, Daniel? I, Beatriz Suarez, also being of somewhat sound mind and body, do also hereby swear that I am crazy, madly, in love with you, Daniel Meade, are you happy, now?

So, since we're both crazy and both...in love with each other, what do you think we should do next?"

He smiled, pulling her down on top of him, on the bed, "Well, I don't know. I guess we'll have to just cross that bridge when we come to it, Betty, at least as far as...the future with our careers is concerned. But...as far as what to do right NOW? I think ...maybe, just maybe we could...you know."

"I do?"

"Do you want me to spell it out for you, scrabble queen?" He attacked her neck, and after they made love, he started to get up, but she pulled him back, "Where are you going, Daniel?"

"I need water. You want some?" She nodded and he brought them both back a glass of water, smiling. "Hey, you made _me_ say it twice, Betty."

She smiled, "Seriously? You're going to make me say it again? Okay, okay. I don't mind. I love you, Daniel. I love you very much. Now, please, come back to bed."

"Demanding little girlfriend, aren't you, Betty?" he teased, taking her glass and putting it down for her, as he smiled, kissing her shoulder, and down her arm, as he climbed back into bed, and tickled her, mercilessly.

She laughed so hard, she could barely breath. Finally, she threw up her hands in surrender, "I give, Daniel." She held him away slightly as he started to kiss her neck, "We can you know, take a break, and rest."

His eyes gleamed, as he repeated her words back to her, "Not to sound too cocky, but I don't have to. I'm just that good!"


	20. Chapter 20

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!

The wind howled and rain came down hard outside. Betty shifted in her sleep, and became aware of someone next to her. Not just someone, but Daniel. He smiled, "Good morning."

She turned to face him, "Good morning."

He kissed her and asked, "So, we could go to some boring breakfast thing with all the crazy people from the reunion last night. Or...we could just stay here and lounge a little longer, or we could get on the road early, I guess. Are you...in a hurry to get back home?"

She shook her head, "Not particularly, no. I kind of like it here, with you, in bed. The lounging choice. If that's okay with you." She smiled, reaching up to kiss his jaw and whispered in his ear, "I love you, by the way."

He grinned, "Oh, yeah, I sort of do remember you saying that last night, too. You do, huh? Hmmm...well, I _guess_ I could put up with staying here in bed with you for another hour or two before we make one last farewell appearance, then hit the road. Do you have any special requests?"

"Are you bringing the orchestra up here to play for us?" she giggled.

"I didn't mean...music, silly. I meant, you know, anything you feel like doing with me? We could just snuggle and listen to the rain, I guess." He put his arm around her tighter, kissing the top of her head.

She smiled, and slid her arms around his waist, "Wow, who would have guessed, you were a snuggler, Daniel? We _could_ do that, _or_ we could...you know, do other stuff until I wear you out again, like I did last night."

He rolled her over, "You did NOT wear me out, Betty! I just...fell asleep. It was three in the morning. People fall asleep. That isn't the same. I was tired, not...whatever you're implying. You were, too. You barely outlasted me. You just got your second wind later than I did, that's all. Or you got a hold of some coffee. You know how crazy you get on caffeine!"

She giggled, "Of course, Daniel. You tell yourself whatever you need to. I just know _I_ wore out New York's most eligible bachelor!"

"Sure you did, Betty." He smirked, "You definitely didn't wear me out our first time together, though. So, even if I allow you last night, that's a tie. Just like scrabble, I'll spot YOU the first round, and we'll see who wins two out of three!" he 'attacked' her neck and began tickling her.

She giggled, "You're crazy, Daniel! You'll spot me the first round? What does that even mean? I was only kidding. You're SO competitive about everything."

He shrugged, laughing, "I don't know. I'm a little giddy, I think. Lack of sleep. Hyper from great sex. A little bit of a champagne hangover. You name it. Euphoria from hearing you tell me you love me." He kissed her shoulder, looking up at her.

"Aww...that's so sweet, Daniel. I like hearing it, too."

"You do?" he faked surprise.

"Of course I do. So...?"

"So?" he pretended to not know what she was talking about.

"So...are YOU going to tell ME? Or are you going to make me beg you?"

"Oh, I definitely like it when you beg me, baby." he teased.

"Not THAT, silly. Never mind. If it's so hard for you to say, it's fine. Forget it. I don't need to hear..."

"I love you, Betty." he whispered roughly into her ear, "I need you, I want you...I love you a thousand times, okay? Does that make you happy?" he started kissing her cheek and running his hands down her side.

"Mmhmmm..." She nodded, and reached up to kiss him, reaching her hands around his smooth chest, and around to his shoulders.

He pulled the sheet over them and she giggled as he started planting kisses down her body.

He didn't even flinch when his phone began to start vibrating at first. But the third time, he reluctantly pulled himself away, "Sorry, sweetie. Let me see who it is."

He looked and saw that it was actually Betty's phone, not his. "Hey, you must have my phone. I have yours. Here, it's for you." He handed her the phone, and went to use the bathroom and give her some privacy.

He returned, drinking water, and handed her a glass, as he heard her talking excitedly. She was sitting up, with a sheet wrapped around her, and nodding, "Yes, I'll definitely give it some serious thought, Mr. Dunne. Of course, Lindsay. Thank you, again! I'll see you on Monday, then. I'll let you know. Goodbye." She looked up at Daniel.

He looked back at her, questioningly, "Well? He is offering you a job in London, isn't he?"

She nodded, not sure how he was going to take this news. He sat down next to her, "Well...I obviously haven't had time to form an opinion to give you, yet, Betty. I know you asked me what I thought. I guess my first question is, what do YOU WANT to do? What's your first instinct? Is it excitement, fear, and also...did he tell you what the job entails, exactly?"

She nodded, "Well, I guess I would have to say, I was excited AND scared, both. As far as what the job is, he said it's to start up a new magazine there. He said it would be sort of 'young person's New Yorker', and that he thought I had the right voice for it. He's been following my career and had spoken to your dad about me. Evidently, your father told him good things about me and how much I had helped you."

He smiled, seeing how excited she obviously was, "Well, I did brag to Dad about you a lot and told him hiring you was the best thing he ever did for me. Wait, he said you would actually be RUNNING this magazine? Betty, you've _got_ to take it. That's your dream job, honey!"

"But, Daniel...it's in London! That's...I mean, what about well, us?"

He thought a minute. "I'm not sure, but I'm pretty certain I can actually get on one of these really new-fangled contraptions they have now, called airplanes and fly over to London, too, Betty!"

She hit his shoulder, "I'm serious! You're going to come with me? What about Mode? How long could you stay? Long distance relationships never work out. I don't know, Daniel. "

"Well, I do. I want you to do this, Betty. It's what you've always wanted. I want you to be happy. You've worked so hard. You deserve this. I'm not going to be the reason you turn down your dream."

"But...I just don't know how you'll be able to..." he put his fingers up to her lips.

"How about you let _me_ worry about how _I'm_ going to manage my part, okay? You're not my assistant anymore, Betty. You're my girlfriend now. I think that's been pretty firmly established on this trip. I'm entitled to go to London with my girlfriend and help her get moved and settled into her new life there. Then...we'll see.

You know, there IS actually a branch of Meade Publications in London, too. We're not just a New York-based company. There's a Mode in South America, Alexis checks on things in our Paris office. We do actually have international ties."

"Yes, I know, Daniel. I still work for Meade Publications right now, remember?"

He shrugged, "Yes, but this is what you want, Betty. I know what you've always wanted and it's to run your own magazine. You know it and so do I. Look, if this were me getting offered the job that I always wanted and worked so hard for, you'd be super supportive and you know it. So, don't you deserve the same support from me?"

"I guess so."

"Fine, then it's settled. You'll take the job and I'll worry about finding something I can do in London."

She looked amazed, "You're going to...come with me? Just like that? Move to London, too? You'd actually do that for me, Daniel?"

He held her and leaned his forehead against hers, "Well, yeah, I guess I am, Betty. Not just for you, though, for us. I just got you to tell me you love me. Do you think I'm going to let you go running off to London by yourself, and leave me behind, now? So you can fall in love with some British version of Henry or something? No way! Of course, I'm coming with you. I love you. I'll go where you go. If you don't mind me tagging along." he put his arm around her and kissed her forehead.

"Of course I don't _mind_, Daniel. That's so sweet of you. It's...it's wonderful. But what about Mode?"

"What about it? Listen, Betty, Mode was never my dream, anymore than it was yours. My dad told me he wanted me to run it and I tried my best, mainly to prove to him and myself I could. The only reason I was able to, is because of you, though. I know that. Plus, I never really asked for it. It wasn't something I worked for...or deserved. I know whose dream it is, though. I think that's who really should be running it."

"Wilhelmina? You're just going to...leave her in charge? Daniel...I don't know. We need to think about this."

"I know we do, Betty. I'm just telling you, I don't want you to turn this opportunity down because of me. I have options. I love you more than I love Mode. I really only stayed there because of you, anyway. I think maybe you only stayed because you felt like you had to help me, too.

So, really, neither of us ever loved it at Mode, so much as we...well, loved each other. We were both just too stupid to see it. I mean, you already told ME how stupid I am, right? "


	21. Chapter 21

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 21

_Disclaimer:I don't own Ugly Betty!_

The phone call from Lindsay Dunne effectively killed the mood for Betty and Daniel. She sat, not knowing what to say for a few minutes, after Daniel's declaration that he was willing to give up his position at Mode and follow her to London.

Betty was overwhelmed with all the changes going on around her. She didn't like change, even when it was slow and subtle, and THIS? This was unbelievable! She was in complete shock. First, to have Daniel even flirting with her, in the first place, then outright coming on to her the whole trip. Finally, to come to the realization about her own feelings towards him.

And now, this? She felt like her head was spinning and she was on some crazy carnival ride that was making her dizzy.

She nodded towards him, "I'm going to take a bath. Maybe we can put in an appearance at the lunch. It's still raining pretty hard, anyway for us to get back on the road right now. We could stay another night and leave early Monday?"

"What time is your meeting with Dunne?"

"Not till six Monday night. We'll still be back in plenty of time. We both cleared our schedules for tomorrow, in case it took us longer to get back, so we can just make a few calls, and check our emails. What do you say, extend this a bit?"

He nodded, reaching out and squeezing her hand, "You're stalling, because you're scared to face this, aren't you, Betty?"

She rolled her eyes, as she got up to go into the bathroom, "I guess you really do know me pretty well, huh?"

He got up and pulled her to him, standing in the doorway, "You say that like it's a bad thing. I love knowing you as well as I do. I do wish you'd let me help you more sometimes, though, not try to do everything yourself, not try to shield me from all the pressure. That's not your job, anymore, Betty. It really never was, even when you were my assistant. It's not as an editor, either, and it's definitely not what I want or expect or need from you as my girlfriend.

I'm a big boy; I can handle the fallout from me stepping down at Mode. My mom is the one who it will effect the most, because it means she'll be stuck keeping a reign on Willi, and I know she'll be thrilled to know we're together, Betty. So, please stop feeling guilty or stressing. Sometimes good things DO happen to good people. And you're the best person I know. So aren't you entitled to a little good stuff once in a while?"

She smiled, as he kissed her slowly and sweetly, then smacked her bottom, "Go, take your bath. Unless you need help? I can probably manage a pretty good back scrubbing."

She shook her head, closing the door on him, "If I let you do that, I'll never get out of here, Daniel. I'll be out soon, I promise, then you can take a shower and get dressed."

He called through the door, "I like baths, too. We could save water."

She yelled back, "Daniel...fine, you WIN this round or whatever, is that what you're waiting to hear? I'm tired."

He grinned, "I knew you were. See how well I know you? Okay, you relax, sweetie. Don't worry, I'll leave you alone. For now. I need to make a few phone calls, anyway."

He smirked as he called his mom's number, hearing her voice, obviously guessing as to the reason for his call, "So, I suppose congratulations are in order, Daniel? It took you all this time to sweep Betty off her feet? You're getting rusty in your old age, dear. Especially since the girl's been in love with you for some time, now."

"Funny, Mom. You know, you're getting cranky in YOUR old age!"

"Watch it, Daniel."

"I'm joking, Mother, dear. You're not getting older, you're just getting better. Like fine wine or...cheese."

"You should have left it at the wine. Comparing me to Stilton isn't all that complimentary. So...things are going well, I take it?"

He grinned like a kid, laying back on the bed, with one arm above his head, "Yeah. Great! She's...amazing."

"Not exactly news, but glad to hear the subtext. You're just calling to give me an update, or is something else on your mind?"

"Well, yeah, kind of...I was wondering how you would react to me wanting to leave Mode."

"To start a new magazine with Betty?"

He looked surprised, but somewhat intrigued, "What makes you think that's what I'd be doing?"

"It's no secret the girl has wanted to start her own magazine. Fashion isn't her strong suit, but she's still managed to do well, and you two make a great team.

You've somehow kept Miss Slater at bay all these years, and even I'll admit, she's smart and knows fashion, so that's been no easy task. But if you are really teaming up with Betty, a new magazine just seems like the next logical step. If you're asking my blessing, you have it. You know how much I love Betty.

And don't worry about Mode. I know Wilhelmina would never do anything to hurt the magazine. That's one thing I don't ever stress about with her. She's shown it means more to her than anything, including being a mother, or wife, or having her own life, outside of the office. In a way, she sacrificed as much as your father did for the whole company for this magazine. She eats, sleeps, and bleeds Mode. I'll give her that. Well, if she actually ever ate. And I suspect she is really a vampire, preying on young girls, sucking their blood."

Daniel laughed, "That's true. It never meant as much to me, because I didn't sacrifice as much or work for it in the first place."

"Don't sell yourself short, Daniel. You've learned a lot and done really well since your father put you at Mode."

"Thanks, Mom. I've been trying, but I'm done worrying about what Dad would be proud of anymore. I need to start doing what's going to make me happiest. But, listen, I've got a big decision to make here. Betty spoke to Lindsay Dunne today. Evidently, he's been following her career and Dad must have been bragging about her to him. He's meeting with her tomorrow. He's flying in to New York tonight and he's already told her he's wants her to run a new magazine for him in London."

"Really? A new magazine, right now? That's a big gamble. Especially in today's economy. And Betty's so young. What is she going to tell him? Is she taking it? But, then, what about you two? Oh, you're going with her, then?"

"Enough with twenty questions! You know me as well as Betty does, don't you, Mom?" he smiled.

"Well, I have known you since you were pretty young, Daniel."

"Ha, ha. Yeah, I guess so. Well, now you know, THAT'S why I'm thinking about leaving Mode, Mom. Do you think I'm crazy? To follow after her? Leave behind everything I've worked for these past four years to go start over in London?"

"I think it's romantic and I think it will make you a much stronger, better man, Daniel. I do have a suggestion, though."

"What's that?"

"Let her know you mean it. You've known each other long enough, that you don't need to stretch out every phase of your relationship. Give her a reason to believe you aren't going to just get angry when you two have your first fight and end up back on the first flight back to New York."

"Are you talking...a reason she can wear?" He smiled.

"Preferably, yes. Should I call Nigel for you?"

"No, I have him on speed dial. I'll do it."

"You don't sound nearly as surprised at my suggestion as I expected you to be, Daniel."

"Maybe because the minute I heard Betty tell me she loved me, and heard myself tell her I loved her, this is all I've been thinking of doing. I even know exactly what she wants, too. Listen, you can do me a favor, Mom. I mean, besides handling things there, when I leave. Which I realize is already a huge favor."

"It's fine, Daniel. I'm your mother. I love that you care enough to ask me for favors. What else do you need me to do?"

"I'd like you to have a chat with Betty's dad, make sure he's not going to boil me in oil if I do this. I will do the traditional, official asking his permission, of course, when we get back to New York, but...I want you to put out some feelers for me. See if he's at all concerned about my past. I know a lot of dad's would be. I'm not exactly a safe bet, with my track record, I guess."

"I think you're worrying about nothing, but I'll be happy to do that for you, anything else?"

"Yeah, but I can't really talk right now. Betty's going to wonder why I haven't come in and jumped her in the bath tub by now. I'll email you later. I have some kind of specific stuff I need to get set up for this. Are you up to it? I could call Amanda or..."

"Daniel, please. I'm happy to help. But I have a favor I want from you in return, then."

"Mom, I know you well enough to know what you're going to say, too. But, forget it, it's totally Betty's call."

"What do you think you know me so well that you know what I was going to ask?"

"Grandkids, right?" he laughed.

She smiled, "I love you, but you're a real pain sometimes, son. Fine, whatever. So, you know me, too. I'm not saying right away."

"Goodbye, Mom. I love you."

She laughed, "I love you, too, dear. Give my love to Betty. As well as yours!"


	22. Chapter 22

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 22

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!_

_A/N: I apologize for the language, ladies. But, although I fought myself about it, I had to be honest and realize Becks was not the kind of guy to 'watch his mouth', so please ...forgive me and don't be too offended. Also, be warned, Daniel gets a bit frisky, as well. So, this one is M rated for a few reasons. _

Eventually, Daniel and Betty made their way to the luncheon sponsored by the re-union committee. Daniel left to go get Betty a club soda and ran into Becks at the bar. "Hey, there you are, Daniel, my boy! Wow, you and Betty sure made yourselves scarce pretty quick last night. Listen, tell me honestly, are you two really married?"

"Why are you so surprised? Am I so unfit to be married or something? Some of us have had to grow up, Becks. Just because you still enjoy making an idiot of yourself, using the same tired pickup lines that only work on women that are beneath you in the non-sexual way, give me a little credit for finding the woman I love, who surprisingly also happens to be in love with me. I'm the lucky one, you know. I honestly feel sorry for you. You're getting too old for this shit."

Becks gave him a somewhat surprised look, "Wow, you really sound like you meant all that crap, Daniel. So, you're really head-over-heels for Betty, huh? And she's actually sold on you, too?"

"Yes, I think she is, thanks a lot for the skepticism, pal! What, you don't think a woman like Betty would go for me, or something? I'm a catch!" He laughed, thinking he had secretly loved it whenever Betty had told him that in the past, and now he knew why.

His friend shrugged, "Well, don't go getting your panties in a twist, Daniel. I'm just still getting used to the idea of you, being married, period. I admit, I AM a little hurt that you didn't invite me or even let me know about it! I mean, if you eloped, I get it, but...you still could have told me. I thought we were best friends. It looks like I've been traded in for a new best friend, one with a lot better boobs than me, huh?"

Daniel smiled, "Hmmm...so you're jealous of Betty, over me? Aww, I'm flattered, Becks. I never knew you swung that way, though. It's always the friends who are the last to know. When did you finally come out of the closet?\"

"You're an asshole, Meade."

He laughed, and got closer, "Look, I'd better not hear a freaking word from anybody about this, but...we're not really married."

"I KNEW it!" he began, but Daniel grabbed him into a quiet corner, "Shut up! Let me finish. Not YET! Okay? I'm actually planning on changing that as soon as we get back to New York, though. Betty's getting a job opportunity in London and I'm leaving Mode to come with her. I don't want her to doubt how much I love her, so...I'm going to propose before we go to London, so she knows how serious I am about her."

Becks eyes had begun to pop out in shock, "Seriously? Wow, NOW I really do believe you. You're on the level, huh? I knew you two were acting way too crazy about each other to be already married, though."

Daniel smirked, patting him on the back, "No, I think it just hurt your little girl feelings to think I would get married and not tell YOU about it, lovah." he teased.

"Go fuck yourself, Daniel." he grinned, rolling his eyes.

"No thanks, some of us don't have to. Happy hunting, sucker! My lady needs club soda. Call me later. Let me know the next time you're in London."

"Hey, Daniel?"

He turned around, "Yes, dear?"

He rolled his eyes, "Shut up, asshole, I was just going to say, when you actually DO get hitched for REAL, let me know. I want to see what it looks like for Daniel Meade to hang up his bachelor card. If you want, I could bring a getaway car in case you come to your senses."

Daniel looked at his friend sympathetically, "Yeah, whatever, no problem-o. She's better, you know."

"Huh? Who, Betty? Better than what, than who?"

He shrugged, "Better than anyone. Than all of them put together. It's definitely worth hanging up my bachelor crown."

"Whatever you say. Go, join the other nutty zombie married guys if you want to, Daniel. I'm not that stupid." He watched Daniel, not knowing exactly what to think. The man was clearly totally besotted with Betty. He saw him gently hand her her soda and sit down, next to her, putting his arm around her protectively, like she was some prize he had won, and saw that lopsided grin Daniel got sometimes.

The woman sure as hell looked a lot better, that was for sure, he'd even call her hot now, but...that wasn't all it was about with Daniel, he could tell. It was something Becks had never really known. He felt like love like that was some kind of mythical beast, a unicorn he'd probably never know himself, so he couldn't understand his friend's sudden goofiness. Still, the man sure seemed happy enough. He couldn't deny that. In fact, he'd never seen Daniel look so happy since he'd first met him. Maybe there was something to all those loony guys, claiming to be 'in love' after all?

Normally, he looked at men, some players like he and Daniel, dropping like flies, all running after some woman, claiming she was 'the one' like they were all falling prey to some incurable disease, one he hoped he'd never catch himself. But now, seeing Daniel, his best friend, still himself, but...so happy, so different. It unnerved him.

He looked around for the red-head, _what the hell was her name, again? Nancy? Susan? She was a screamer, that was for sure, he thought, grinning to himself. He couldn't honestly remember if they had ever hooked up years ago, but that's what this re-union had been all about for him, picking up the strays from the herd that he hadn't already been with before. _

He heard laughter that sounded familiar and saw Betty, laughing at some lame ass joke Daniel was telling her. She had _that look_, every time she laid eyes on the man. That crazy look chics all got when they set their sites on you.

The look he had avoided like the plague since he was a stupid teenager, and had been fool enough to fall for Ashley Winston. The one and only girl Beckett Scott had ever claimed to 'love'. After he saw her making out with Steve Olsen, only a week after he had been so stupid as to tell her that he 'loved' her, he resolved, never to make the same mistake again. He never intended to feel that shitty again. It just wasn't worth it. No woman was worth feeling that way about.

He sauntered over towards the happy couple, to observe up close just how crazy Daniel was over this former nightmare of a girl. The woman must have fallen hard for her boss, gotten her make-over and decided to go after the man, Becks decided. Daniel was a rich guy, and okay to look at, he admitted, reluctantly to himself. The girl could certainly do worse. He smiled, finding a seat on the other side of Betty, and leaned over to whisper, "Daniel told me your little secret, MISS Suarez. So, there is no baby, either?"

She turned, as Daniel gave him a glare. He started to yell at the man, but figured, Betty could handle him and decided it might be somewhat amusing to watch Becks get his hat handed to him by his new girlfriend.

Betty shot Daniel a quick glance and he nodded, and shrugged, mouthing, "sorry". She turned back to Becks and got close to him, leaning forward, "No, Becks. There's no baby. And Daniel and I aren't really married. But if you like your 'boys' and I'm sure you do, you'll keep your sexy little mouth shut, right? Besides, we _are together, now_, so..."

He shrugged, and raised one eyebrow, somewhat suggestively, "So?"

She looked at him, as if he had said his hair was on fire, "So, what? You can't be serious. You, me? I don't _think_ so."

"Why not? I mean, you know, when you're done playing around with Daniel, come see me. I'll show you what you've been missing."

"Who says I'm missing anything? I've got everything I need, thanks. Go, play with your old ladies, Becks. You're king of the single boys now. Last man-child standing. You should be very proud of yourself. Never allowing yourself to fall in love. I'm sure it keeps you warm at night."

He looked at her as she met his gaze. He could see the challenge in her eyes. She had some pretty amazing eyes, he had to admit. He had never seen a prettier smile, either. Those stupid braces did the woman justice, that was for sure. She definitely had a fantastic rack and he had always appreciated Betty's ass, even when she dressed like a bag lady when he had first met the girl. Now, she was all kinds of yummy. And Daniel was holding her like he had won the lottery. Not that the guy needed to win anything. Daniel always seemed to get the best of everything, Becks thought, somewhat jealously. Now, this girl, this young little Mexican beauty, staring him down, looking at him like she could see right through him, made him laugh out loud.

"Wow, you really are something, aren't you, Betty? So, you actually think you want to stay with _this guy?_ I could probably tell you some things about Daniel that would..."

"Not surprise me, Becks. I used to be Daniel's assistant, remember? I know what he's done, WHO he's done, and where he's been. Mostly, with YOU his partner in crime, right? The past is the past. But, sooner or later, everyone's got to grow up and face their future. You might want to think about lowering your defenses before you wake up, old, sad and alone, Mr. Scott.

Look around you, this whole room is filled with people pushing forty, all rather pathetic. Face it, that's the only reason most of them are here, yourself included, to get laid, to look for something missing in their lives. Well, either that, or the ones like Daniel who are here to prove they've changed and are better, now."

"Let's go, Betty." Daniel sounded urgent, "I see that damn woman, Cynthia over there. I don't feel like making small talk with her again. She's a pain in the ass. Bye, Becks. We'll call you when we get to London, okay? Good to see you, buddy."

Daniel scooted out her chair and led her away, leaving Becks watching, as his former best friend walked away. He couldn't help but be intrigued with the way Daniel's eyes never seemed to leave Betty for a second. He was always watching her. Hell, come to think of it, the idiot had done that to the girl, even back when she looked like a mess. He was always talking about her, even when they had gone out, drinking and partying at the clubs. It was like the man had Betty on the brain, constantly. At least now, it made a little more sense. He shook his head, grinning to himself, well, _another one bites the dust!_

Once they reached the elevator to their hotel, Daniel cornered her, as she laughed, "Wow, that didn't last long. Thanks, for getting us out of there, though. I barely got in a word edgewise with that Andrea woman. She's totally still got the hots for you, you know, Daniel. I think she's gone from hating you, and plotting her revenge against you to thinking you're mister sweetie and pining for you even more."

"Like I care. She's nuts, anyway. She always was."

"You don't even really remember her, do you? How do you keep them all straight, Daniel?"

"Betty, cut it out. You're just reacting to Becks, hitting on you and it makes you lump me together with him. Yes, I used to be like that, but you know I'm not anymore. So, don't get mad at me by association, please." He was more or less whispering, as he began kissing her softly, all over her face and neck, while he had her against the side of the elevator.

She could barely breathe, he was so close and was holding his body against hers deliberately so she could tell how much he wanted her, she knew. "Daniel...stop. What is it with you and elevators? Can't you behave yourself until we get back to our room? You wouldn't let me get out of the bath tub earlier, then you made me take a 'shower' with you. Am I supposed to replace your little endless line up?"

"You're better than all of the women lined up, Betty. You know that. And do you honestly _want me to behave or do you just want me?"_

"Very cute, Daniel. Fine, I want you. Stop being so smug."

"You love it and you know you do, or you wouldn't have come onto me earlier."

"When?" She played innocent.

"Just then, the whole thing with Becks trying to hit on you and you kept glancing at me, and biting your bottom lip like you wanted me. You know that turns me on."

"No, I didn't. Really? It does?"

"Yes, and that whole thing you do with your eyes now that you aren't wearing your glasses. The whole Princess Diana thing, you know."

She looked at him, laughing, " I have no idea what you're talking about, Daniel."

"You do, too. The thing where you look down then back up all slow and shy, but not totally shy. She used to do it. It was all the thing people used to say about her. That's where they came up with that whole 'shy di thing."

"I'm too young to know that much about her, Daniel, sorry."

He rolled his eyes, "Right, I keep forgetting. I'm such a cradle-robber. A dirty old man."

"Yes, very dirty."

He raised his eyes, and gave her a look, "Really? I think you're surprisingly aware of most of my dirty little tricks, little girl, for such a young thing."

"Thing? You did not just call me a thing, Daniel Meade."

He smirked, getting closer, and letting both his hands slide down from around her waist, to her backside. "But, Betty, you're a really good thing. Or maybe I meant to say, you're butt's a really good thing, Betty?"

"Daniel..." she warned, but he just ignored her and nipped her ear, gently as he let his hands start roaming across her body. "Mmm..." She murmured softly into his ear, making him grin as he expertly slipped his hand under her dress, and he found himself greatly enjoying the mildly shocked expression on her face, change to one of pure ecstasy as he watched her writhe underneath him, her eyes closing.

"Ooh...god...DANIEL...oh, my god...don't stop … oh … yes...yes...YES!"

He had her pinned between himself and the wall of the elevator and as her eyes popped open he smiled, kissing her deeply, and grabbing her while she was still in her own haze, to open the door to their room the second the elevator door opened, almost knocking over a maid and her cart, in his haste to get Betty inside the room, so he could finish satisfying her. He couldn't help but feel sorry for poor Becks, out there, still wasting his time, when he knew, deep in his soul, he had never in all his own years of debauchery found any woman who satisfied him like being with Betty did.

It wasn't just the sex, although that was the most intense he'd ever had, too. But he knew it was intense _because_ they were in love with each other. It was like they both were actually determined to make the other one happy, both trying to give one another as much pleasure as possible that somehow made it more fantastic for themselves in the process. He didn't understand it, but it was as close to anything...well, spiritual he had ever felt since losing Molly and he somehow knew, with Betty, things were only going to get better.

She knew him like nobody ever had and he knew her, too. They often didn't need words, although those usually came easily, at least, after they came together, they would laugh, or cry or hold each other, then one would say something silly or he would tickle her and she would be sweet and childlike, again, but still so sexy and charming, he wanted to just hold her and never let her go.

Part of him felt unsure and desperate, declaring he would follow her across the ocean, but he knew the minute he heard himself it was the right thing, the only thing he could do. Betty was the love of his life. He knew it without a shadow of doubt now. And there was no way in hell he was going to lose her. He hadn't been able to keep from losing Molly. But with Betty, he had a choice. He didn't have to just let her go. And he wasn't going to. He knew he couldn't keep her at Mode. He had seen that coming for some time, now. It was the reason he had been stupid enough to let himself get involved with that crazy cult. He had seen Betty start to show signs of boredom, even as an editor at Mode.

He could tell from her expressions and the way she spoke when she told him about her reactions to Gio's challenge that she was wasting her time in a career she didn't want. But, as long as he knew it wasn't him she was rejecting, merely his company, Daniel would prove he wasn't going to let her down.

"Daniel." She whispered roughly, as she started practically tearing his clothes off. He loved seeing this side of her. The little girl was now most definitely a woman. His woman. He couldn't help thinking, somewhat smugly, _Daniel's girl was now Daniel's woman,_as she quickly and somewhat expertly unzipped his pants and shoved him against the door, "I need you." He nodded and helped her finish taking down his boxers and leaned her back against the door, before she had even started touching him, he surprised her by taking her panties down and whispering against her throat, hoarsely, "The feeling is mutual. I need you, too."

She opened her eyes, smiling as he took her _intensely_ against the door, not even bothering to take off her dress he had started to unzip back in the elevator. He was already kissing her, alternately roughly and gently, finding he could barely hold back from exploding, when she arched her back and said his name, "_DANIEL..._" it wasn't like the woman hadn't said his name a million times before, but the _way she said it, when she came, made him lose himself, too._

When he finally recovered himself just a bit, he

found they were both laughing, "Wow, that was like, crazy. You got me going in the elevator, you naughty boy."

He smiled, "Yeah, I couldn't believe you moaning like that when the old couple got off the elevator. I think it's appropriate that I got you off as they were getting off."

She gave him a glare, "Hey, you were the one with his hand down my pants, mister! And you're not even the slightest bit funny. Daniel, I was...thinking."

He shook his head, and flopped down on the bed, kicking off his shoes, "Oh, God, no! Not that! She's thinking again." he teased. But when she sat down on the edge of the bed, He shook his head, and the back of her dress was still open, so he actually zipped it back up, and nodded, "Sorry, go ahead, schmoopy-pie. What were you thinking?"

She rolled her eyes, "Schmoopy-pie? Geez, Daniel. Okay, fine, if you must know, I was wondering if you have really thought this through, leaving Mode. I don't have to tell you it's not a good time in the publishing business right now and..."

He stiffened, "No, you actually DON'T have to tell me that, Betty. I do know a little bit about business in general. My old man was a pretty big deal in publishing, and I did go to Harvard and I'm NOT a complete moron, you know. Yes, I'm well aware how bad the business is right now. I told you, I have options. Since I am a Meade, I can go work at the UK offices if I can't figure something out on my own first in London and I won't starve in the meantime.

Hell, I could always come stay with you, right? I could let you be my sugar mama, and just wait for you to come home and jump you, and bring you lunch at your office, try out your desk, under your desk, on top of your desk, against your door. You like it against the door, right, Miss Editor-in-chief?"

She rolled her eyes, "Okay, are you done? Very funny, Daniel. I just don't want you to give up everything for me...and then hate me for it." she had unshed tears in her eyes.

He sat up and held her from behind, and said softly in her ear, "Betty, don't you know, I could NEVER hate you, I'll always, always have only love for you. 'I'll always love you. You complete me. I'll never let go, Rose, you jump; I'll jump, uh...you make me want to be a better man. I just held your hand and...magic!" he grinned at her, teasingly, "Did I forget any of your girly movie lines? Oh, I know. How about...I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is." he said in his best Forrest Gump accent.

She hit his arm and chest and he laughed as she started out hitting him, but he grabbed her and pulled her down on top of him, and looked up at her, brushing her hair out of her eyes, "Betty, stop it, okay? I'm never going to hate you. I WANT to go to London. I bet Prince Willie is close to sealing the deal with that Kate Middleton and there'll be all kinds of press over that, and with the 2012 Olympics coming, you know London's going to be lousy with us yanks, so...I'll be fine. I'll find something to occupy my time, when I'm not pining for you. Who knows, maybe I could work with you. I know how to add and subtract if I use a calculator for the big numbers. I could get a job there in the accounting department. You LIKE accountants, right? I wonder what I would look like with nerdy glasses?"

He rolled over, on top of her, as she hit his chest again, this time harder, and whispered, "I hate you, Daniel. You're such an idiot!"

He smiled, and kissed her passionately, and whispered, "I know you do. I love you, too, schmoopy-butt."


	23. Chapter 23

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 23

_Disclaimer_: I don't own Ugly Betty!

* * *

Very early in the morning, they heard a loud alarm announcing in a recorded voice, "Fire! Fire! Leave the building!" Daniel took a few seconds to wake Betty, sleeping beside him, "Betty! Get up! There's a fire alarm. Come on, grab your shoes and jacket. Let's go!"

She nodded, only half-awake and put on one of Daniel's shoes. He tried to help her, but was busy gathering their coats and grabbing his keys and wallet off the night stand. She was running around, but not really fully awake or aware what she was doing, so she grabbed a pillow. He pulled it away from her, "What the heck are you doing? We don't need pillows! Betty! You've still got my shoes on, honey. For Pete's sake!"

He sat her down quickly outside the door to the hotel room, holding his shoes and hers, and quickly put his on, then helped her with her own and handed her her jacket, "Here, now let's get the heck out of here!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the stairwell. She mumbled something he couldn't quite make out about bumble bees and butterflies, but he ignored her sleep talk and kept tugging at her to go down the stairs.

Finally, after nine floors, she sat down on the stoop, but there was smoke curling under the door and Daniel could smell it. "Betty! For God's sake, we can't sit down yet. We have to get out of this building, okay?"

She motioned him to go on without her, "Save yourself, Daniel. I can't keep going down all these stairs! It's twelve floors."

He shook his head and picked her up, putting her over his shoulder, "You are a pain in the ass sometimes, Betty! It's a good thing for you I love you so damn much. Remember what I told you before? You jump, I jump, right? So, by God, I'm getting you out of here if I have to carry you, kick you, throw you, or pull you out by your hair, for crying out loud. Do you really think I'm going to leave you behind in a a fire, you crazy woman?"

He lifted her up and managed to get down two of the flights with her over his shoulder before she came to herself enough to realize what was going on, "Daniel! Put me down! I can walk, okay? I'm awake now, I promise. But you're going to kill yourself trying to carry me."

"You're not that heavy, Betty. Don't start with how fat you think you are. I can carry you. Just shut up and let me help you, will you? I think you've gone insane with the fumes. You were babbling about bumble bees back in the room. We're almost out. There's the exit, just down one more flight, see?"

"Please? Let me down. I can walk. I don't want you to hurt yourself. I don't think I could carry you."

"Thanks. Now you're calling me fat?" He grinned, and put her down gently, looking at her eyes to make certain she was actually aware now. "You okay now? You're sure?"

She nodded. "Yes, come on! Let's get the hell out of here!" She pulled on him, as he laughed, "Now you're awake!"

They made it to the exit door and saw dozens of people in their nightwear, some with only underwear and many with only one or no shoes on all standing around. As they noticed someone pointing to a top floor window where flames could be seen, and smoke pouring out, the crowd watched in bewildered amazement, while fire trucks and emergency responders arrived, to deal with the situation. As the fire's intensity grew, firemen emerged with victims who had been closer to the fire and passed out from the smoke.

All seemed to be alive and well, although some suffered from smoke inhalation and were coughing, there thankfully appeared to be no major injuries. Faulty wiring had been discovered in the top floor and had somehow ignited an old mattress and box springs that had been stored in the attic.

The victims were shuttled to nearby hotels. Betty and Daniel decided they were too frazzled to sleep at first, so they drank coffee and sat in the hotel lobby while they waited for a room in the now bustling hotel.

He held her hand across the table, and smiled at her, "Hey, I thought you were supposed to always be the one with a level head in any emergency, Miss Suarez."

She blushed, "I was sleepy and out of it. I'm so sorry, Daniel. Thank you for saving my life! You were amazing. I can't believe you carried me down the stairs like that. You're my hero."

He rolled his eyes, "Betty, I only carried you down a few flights. Don't do that. You always...put me up on a pedestal. It's too much pressure. I'm not some hero, okay? I was just more awake than you, that's all. All those years of partying all night finally paid off, I guess!" he smirked.

She shook her head, "Okay, if I'm not allowed to idolize you, then you aren't allowed to diminish your own contributions, either, Daniel. I know you think nothing you do is ever good enough, maybe because you felt that way a lot with your dad, but...Daniel you were there for me, tonight. You DID save me. You got me out of the building. You helped me...put on my shoes."

He grinned, "Yeah, that's me; I help maidens in distress put on their own shoes in an emergency!"

A hotel employee was finding people in the crowd and trying to return there things to them as soon as the fire department had been able to extinguish the flames and staff was allowed back in the building.

A young man came up to them, "Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Meade?"

Daniel glanced at Betty, and let go of her hand, "That's us. Wow, you got our stuff? We weren't even worried about all that. We were just happy to have our shoes and coats." The man nodded and handed Daniel a paper to sign that he had delivered their things to them, and handed him another paper. "If you have damage, please fill out this report. We'll be notifying all the guests of any compensation due to the fire once we've spoken to our insurance provider tomorrow. Sorry for your inconvenience."

"It's not your fault. Thanks for bringing us our stuff." Daniel smelled the items, "Hmm...we might need to do a little shopping on the way back unless we want to smell like a campfire."

She nodded. "At least we'll have something to put on. You look cute in your boxers and coat, but..."

He smiled, "Yeah, well, you look pretty hot yourself in my Harvard shirt and your coat, too. Sorry, maybe I should think of another term in this case other than hot, huh? Sexy? Adorable?"

She raised her eyebrows, "Sexy and adorable? Kind of a strange combination. Is that how you see me?"

He nodded leaning forward to kiss her across the table, "Yep. Exactly. You're adorably sexy, Betty. That describes you to a T!"

After a few minutes, their room was ready and they wearily went to get a few hours of sleep.

As they started to leave the hotel, the next morning, Daniel hurried Betty to the car, trying to escape any further interruptions or stalking by Andrea, fearing she may have also been brought to the same hotel as them.

He also wanted to avoid Becks right now, until he had done what he planned back in New York. He was worried the guy might blurt out his plans to Betty and ruin everything. But he had wanted to make sure Becks got the message that Betty was absolutely off the market.

She looked so cute, he smiled, seeing her in her pencil skirt and button down satin blouse. Thankfully, other than the smoky smell, none of their clothes had been damaged. Betty could definitely pull off being a Boston high-powered exec's wife, he thought. Not that he had any desire to move back here or even to take up the reins for his father back in New York, but just the idea of Betty next to him somehow made him feel optimistic; like together, they could conquer the world; or at least London.

He felt a lot more confident that he had persuaded her that he was not going to turn around later on down the line and regret 'giving up' his life in New York for her, for them. He was aware what a grand gesture it might seem like to a lot of people, Betty included, but Daniel was the type of man who made big gestures seem possible, seem not all that daunting.

His family life had always been so full of drama, of chaos, and often not in a positive way, that to do something so seemingly unselfish out of pure love for another person thrilled him. In spite of the fact that he knew his reasons actually _were_ selfish. He knew secretly that letting Betty go simply wasn't an option for him.

Betty's family was the type that did the everyday, small things that the Meade household had somehow bypassed. Things like decorating the Christmas tree, and making cookies together, having Thanksgiving together as a family, trick-or-treating, or saying "I love you" to one another all the time, almost without even thinking about it. Those things were part of what Daniel longed for with Betty. He had spent most of his life up till now, living the 'good life', in wealth, with too much sex, too much booze, and not enough closeness to his family, or tenderness with any woman he loved.

The little time Daniel had with Molly and how much he actually enjoyed being a husband, the fun he had with the kids in her classroom, not to mention the taste of fatherhood when he thought DJ was his son had all convinced him how much he ached to have a real family of his own. And that started with being with the one woman he had grown to count on, to trust, and yes, finally to love.

He couldn't imagine for one second letting Betty go to London without him. He knew he could never live without her; she was like a drug for him, but in a much healthier way than the pills he had become addicted to briefly before his car accident with Alexis. He simply had to have Betty in his life. She was the reason he bothered to show up at work, that he came in with a smile, that he got through the day, everything he did was for _her. _So that he could see her smile at him and know she was proud of him.

He smiled, as she looked up to leave, "So, are we ready to hit the road again, Mr. Meade?"

"You know it. So, how about I drive now, then you take over once we pick up Bobby's car, since you're more used to it?"

She nodded, "Sounds good. Let's hit the road. If we can actually avoid all the stops, like running into trees and such, it should take us less than five hours, accounting for traffic and food."

"And potty breaks for my little baby girl."

"Whatever, Daniel." She rolled her eyes . "Need any more refresher courses?"

He shook his head, "I'm good, thanks. I think I've had enough practice now to remember. Of course, this is a lot different than driving the Lamborghini, you realize. I think I was just reacting to the difference in automobile before."

She shook her head, "Whatever you have to believe to soothe your delicate male ego, Daniel." He helped her into the passenger seat, and buckled her seat belt for her, tugging on it.

"No comments from my little cheering section, Betty. I said thank you for the instruction. Let's not get carried away. Like you said, I just needed practice on the road. I've got it now, princess."

She smiled at him, putting her hand on top of his, which was still holding her seat belt, "What did you just call me?"

He shrugged, "Well, you're acting like one."

She chewed on her bottom lip and somewhat exaggeratedly lowered her lashes, then looked up at him, grinning, "Am I now? So, does that make you...a prince, Daniel?"

He rolled his eyes at her this time, and kissed her briefly, "Sure. Just call me Prince Charming. Or Prince Sexy. So, let's get you safely to your kingdom, sweetie. Oh, by the way, I meant to ask you, did you tell your family about the job? About moving to London yet?" He went around and got in to the driver's seat, and started up the car, pulling them out onto the road.

After a few seconds, she fiddled with the nav system, ignoring his question, so he repeated it. "Yeah, I know where I'm going, Betty. You didn't answer my question. Does your family know you're going to be leaving the country? Do you think they'll be...okay with it?"

She shrugged, seeming as if she didn't want to think about it. "Daniel, I don't know. I doubt my dad will be happy about it. Hilda did just get married. He doesn't even know about her and Bobby looking for their own place yet. She's too scared to tell him. But, Bobby's doing okay and with Hilda's business improving, they've...been looking."

"What, you think your dad's going to be too sad, losing his girls and living on his own? What about Elena? Why doesn't he live with her or something? Aren't they pretty serious?"

She nodded, "I think so. I think he just didn't want to talk about it while Hilda's wedding was going on. But, he and Elena seemed inseparable at the wedding, so...maybe."

"You know...either way, he's going to be okay, Betty. He's your father and I know you and your sister love him and are grateful he's been there for you since your mom died, but...he knows you've both got to live your own lives, too. I really don't think he expects either of his daughters to live with him forever!" he smiled, putting his hand on her leg.

She nodded, seeming close to tears, and he grabbed her hand, bringing it up to his lips and meeting her eyes, he smiled. "He'll be fine, Betty. Your dad's a big boy. He can take care of himself. He's done a pretty great job, taking care of you and Hilda, and Justin, all these years. Plus, he...has been pretty special to me, too.

I've actually called him a lot over the years since...well, since the Sofia thing, really. He's been nicer to me than my own old man. I've called your dad when I needed to get an opinion about things sometimes. He's always been sort of a sounding board for me. I respect the hell out of him. I know he wouldn't want to feel like he was holding either of his girls back from moving on to the next step of their lives, either, Betty. That's evidently what parents are supposed to do. Support their kids, no matter what, and let them spread their wings and try things, cheer them on, that kind of thing."

She looked at him, seeing the sadness that was behind those blue eyes of his, that made them dark. She squeezed his hand, "Daniel, you know...I never told you this, but, your dad asked me to do something for him just before he died. Remember when you had to leave his room when they arrested your mom? You asked me to go sit with him? Well, he actually told me to help you, and said that I was the only one who could keep you on your path."

He looked at her, surprised, "Really? My old man said that to you?"

She nodded, looking down. "Yes."

He smiled, "Well, what do you know! I guess he really did care about me, at least a little. Hell, he's the one who hired you, God bless him for that! Of course, he did it partially so I _wouldn't _ sleep with my assistant, but...hey, I'm thinking four years is enough of a statute of limitations, don't you think? Besides, technically, I didn't sleep with you while you were still my assistant, so, I guess I'm off the hook." he grinned at her.

"I guess so." She smiled back. "Your father did love you, Daniel. I think he just didn't know how to tell you."

Daniel nodded, "Yeah, I guess so. I know when we have kids, I'm going to tell them I love them all the time. I don't want them..." he looked at her face, and realized what he had just said, "I mean...uh...okay, I obviously didn't mean to say that, Betty. I'm sorry. I don't really know _why_ I said that. I guess I was just thinking about kids, that's all. I didn't mean anything by it. I...shit." he was looking back and forth between the road and trying to gauge Betty's facial expressions to see how she was reacting to his little slip.

To his utter surprise, she started laughing, "You want to let me in on the joke, Betty?"


	24. Chapter 24

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 24

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!_

Betty couldn't seem to stop giggling. Daniel was turning redder by the minute. Finally, he pulled the car over, "Betty! I...said I was sorry. I didn't mean to say that, okay? But...why the hell are you laughing at me? I'm glad you think it's so funny."

She finally managed to control herself, and she grinned at him, wiping away the tears from her laughter. He looked hurt, and started to look away from her. She grabbed his hand, "Daniel. You don't understand. I..it's just so funny. Because I thought...I was the only one who, you know, thought about stuff like that. Projected into the future. I already had our kids named and pictured them with British accents and calling us mummy and da, in cute little school uniforms."

His mouth practically dropped open. He smiled at her, "Really? So...you see us...you know, together for the long haul, huh?"

She looked slightly worried, "You mean, you don't? But I thought you just said..."

He squeezed her hand, shaking his head, "No, no, Betty. I do. At least, I hope so. I was just so worried I was rushing you. That you'd get scared, thinking I was moving too fast. I know how you are. You hate change. You like time to think things over and process them.

And I get that. I mean, I was prepared to just date you and let you launch your first issue before I expected you to really have much time for me. I know how important this is to you and I don't want to be in the way of..." she shook her head, and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him. "I love you, Daniel Meade."

He grinned, looking like a kid who just got his first ice cream cone. "I love you, too, Betty. What was that for, though? Not that I minded. At all. I just want to know what I did that you liked so much."

She smiled her dazzling smile, and shrugged, leaning her forehead against his, "You really do know me, don't you? See, that's why we don't need to wait a long time for...anything. You can date me, though. That does sound fun. I mean, we've always had a great time together. It sort of felt like we were on dates sometimes. But, it'll be even more fun, now, of course. Now that we're...you know."

"Having fun?" he grinned, winking.

"No, well, yes. But, I just meant, you know, now that we know we love each other."

"Oh, that." he laughed.

She hit his arm, "Yes, that!"

"I'm just messing with you, Betty. I'm so glad you FINALLY came to your senses and realized how crazy you are about me. I really can't believe I figured out how perfect we are together before you did! What happened to you being so smart all the time? But, then again, you never have been all that bright when it comes to men, so...it figures I'd be the one to know before you how you just can't live without me."

"You're the one who said he can't live without me, remember?"

"When did I say that?"

"Yesterday. And this morning."

He shrugged, smirking, "Well, you know, us guys say a lot of things, when we're trying to...you know."

She shoved his chest, "DANIEL MEADE!"

He laughed, "I'm kidding! Geez, Betty. Take it easy! I'm only kidding. I know I said it. And I meant it. I already quoted you every sappy line I could think of from your silly movies. What else do you want? I love you, okay?

But listen, I know when things get down to the wire and you're ready to fly across that ocean you're going to freak out on me, like you always do. So, just remember how much I love you and you love me and don't start second guessing this thing between us, okay? Don't start doubting how much I care about you. Promise me?"

She nodded, as he pulled her close, so that she couldn't think straight, from his scent. She looked up at him, "I know. You're right, Daniel. I do that. But, don't let me push you away. I do love you. I want this. I want us. I promise you, I do. More than anything. So, if I do start to freak out, don't listen to anything I say. Just know how crazy I am about you. You're my Prince Charming, my hero. The...father of my future little Bridget and Colin."

He raised his eyebrows, "Bridget...maybe. But Colin? No way, Betty! That's a wimpy, wussy name. The poor kid will get the crap knocked out of him whenever he comes to visit the states with us! How about...Craig? Or David? Something a little more manly than Colin."

She blushed, "Well, I think we have plenty of time to decide."

He suddenly got a strange look of panic on his face, "Uh, Betty. You...didn't forget to take your pill yesterday, did you? Not to mention, this morning? I've been with you twenty-four seven, except when you went to the bathroom, and I don't actually remember you..."

"Crap! Oh, my God, you're right! I did forget. I...oh, this is not good, Daniel. How could I do that?"

He rolled his eyes, "Well, I guess I did keep you pretty busy. It's easy to see how you'd forget. Let's not panic. I mean, you've been taking them up till yesterday, right, so...we weren't together _that_ many times, were we? Since yesterday morning..." he looked like he was counting in his head, "Well, yeah, maybe quite a few, actually."

He saw Betty, rifling through her overnight case. "I can't even _find_ them, Daniel! I must have left them out somewhere in the first hotel before the fire!"

They looked at each other, somewhat in a daze. Finally, he took a deep breath and shrugged, "You know what, I've had a few close calls before, condoms break, that kind of thing. It happens. It doesn't necessarily mean you'll...you know, end up pregnant. I don't think I have super sperm or anything. I know this would be lousy timing for that, what with your job and all, though. I guess you could do a test in a week or so. Either at home or I could take you to the doctor."

"Okay. Wow, I know this sounds crazy, Daniel. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'm okay, either way."

"Really?"

"Why? Are you freaking out?" she looked at him, concerned. But he shook his head, and smiled.

"Not really. I'm okay either way, too, Betty. I mean, it will change our timeline, maybe a little and it could make things more complicated, but...you know what? I've been thinking more and more about doing internet sales, and I could do that from home a lot, actually."

She looked at him, and grinned. "From home? So, you mean, you would? Be the one to stay home? Seriously? YOU?" She laughed, "I've got to say, Daniel, I don't know if I can quite picture you, wearing one of those front backpack things around your neck, changing diapers and feeding little Bridget. I mean, you'd be adorable, doing that. But I don't think I like that idea. First of all, the stay at home moms would all be in love with you and hitting on you constantly. So, I'd be..."

He shook his head, and kissed her, "Betty, stop. We've both got to stop doing this. We don't have a clue if you're pregnant or not. We're really jumping the gun, here. So, I think the first thing we should do now, is just try and not worry too much about something that might not happen. And the second thing is...we need to make a stop before we go any further."

"A stop? Are you hungry already? We just left less than an hour ago. How can you be hungry again. Are YOU pregnant?" she teased.

"Ha, ha. I said I'd be willing to stay home, not defy science. I'm not my sister, Betty. I like being a man, thanks. No, I just meant we should stop and get some condoms. You know, for the future."

She nodded, "Definitely. Plus, I do have more birth control pills at home. Listen, Daniel, I'm really sorry I forgot. I don't want you to think I was being sneaky or anything. I promise you, I wasn't."

He put his hand on her arm, "Betty, please. I know you're not the kind of woman to try and trap me into having my kid! I mean, we were just in a fire. It's a little frazzling to anybody. Besides, I was the one talking about kids to begin with, remember? So, obviously, it's not like I'm opposed to the idea of having children with you. In fact, since I'm older than you, I think I'm a lot more ready for a family than you probably are."

He looked at her, as he pulled back onto the road. She looked down in her lap, "I never told you this, but about a year ago, I had a scare with Matt. I was so freaked out! I wasn't even close to being ready to be a mom. He seemed okay with it. But, I was completely panicked. I think it's because, deep down, I doubted that he and I were going to last."

"How about now? You said you're not that panicked? So, does that mean, you think we ARE going to...last?"

She nodded, giving him a big smile, "I do, Daniel."

"I like that you said that, Betty." he turned his eyes back to the road, and turned on the radio. They rode the rest of the way to Herb's shop, neither saying anything, both lost in their own thoughts. When they arrived, Daniel pulled into the parking area and turned to her, then put his hand on hers, pulling them to him.

"Betty, listen, no matter what happens, you know, with the whole possible pregnancy thing, I just want you to know, I love you. I fully intend to go to England with you and start our new lives together, and try and be there for you. I'm looking forward to showing you I can be as supportive to you and your career as you've always been for me and mine.

But, if you are...you know, I'd be thrilled about it, quite frankly. You know how much I loved being a dad when I thought DJ was my son. I'm trying for your sake not to actually hope you are. At least not right now, but I just didn't want you to think for a second that I was freaked out about it, because I'm really not, okay?"

She nodded, "Thank you for telling me that, Daniel. It does help to know you're there for me, regardless. Not that I would expect anything less from you. I know what a good man you are. That's why I love you. I'm fighting with myself over what's meant to be and all that, thinking you know, if I am...then maybe that's what's supposed to happen. Maybe I'm not meant to go to London. At least not right now."

"Betty, you could still go. You could still take the job. I wouldn't want you to turn it down either way. It's your dream, honey. Dunne can't not hire you because you're pregnant. It's against the law. You could still do a great job there."

"I don't see how. Not with morning sickness and all that. Besides, I would want to stay in New York, close to my family, you know? Wow, this is driving me nuts. I really want to know, right away."

"Yeah, well, I don't think it works that way. I guess we'll just have to be careful from now on and after next week, see how you are at taking tests."

She smiled weakly, as they got out of the car and went to talk to Herb about the work to Bobby's car.

After they had given him the keys to the rental and gotten into Bobby's car, Betty drove to a little cafe. Daniel looked at her, "Are you hungry or something? I thought we were going to get home as quickly as possible."

She shook her head, "I'm...sick. I think it's just been too much to deal with all at once, Daniel. I went on this road trip just to help out a friend. I come back a few days later and...and I find out that friend and I are in love, so we start to...have sex, and I almost break your penis.

Then, you recover and we have sex a lot, which is great, but I find out for sure the job I want in London is a real possibility. You're like totally amazing and tell me you're willing to come with me. Oh, and we go threw a fire, that you basically save my life getting through.

THEN, I realize I might be pregnant? It's just too much! I'm sorry, but...I'm really starting to freak out, Daniel. I don't know how NOT to freak out about all of this. It's crazy! I really think I'm going to..." she threw up in the parking lot, just as she opened her door.


	25. Chapter 25

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 25

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!_

"Betty, sweetie, are you okay?" Daniel looked concerned as she came out from the bathroom of the cafe.

She nodded her head, wiping away tears she was trying to hide from him. As she sat down at the booth, he scooted back in next to her, putting his arm around her. The waitress came and took their order.

To his surprise, Betty ordered a large salad, fries, and a sandwich. He nodded, "I think I"ll have the same. Water and coffee to drink. Betty?"

She shook her head, making a face, "No coffee for me. Could I get a Seven Up, please?"

The waitress left. Daniel smiled and Betty looked at him, hitting his arm, "What? Don't look at me like that, okay? I'm hungry. So what? Non-pregnant girls eat, too, Daniel. At least normal girls. Not the toothpick girls you're used to, I'm sure. And...I just got sick smelling all this smoke! It smells like we are chain smokers or something. Isn't it making you nauseous, too?"

He nodded, bending his head to sniff his shirt, "Yeah, I guess you're right. We do sort of smell like Smokey the Bear's worst nightmare. After we finish lunch, we could stop and pick up some non-smokey clothes if you want. I had a lot of fun the last time we went shopping together." he smirked, running his hand down her arm, and kissing her ear.

She put her shoulder up to her ear, leaning away from him. He rolled his eyes, "What, are you not going to let me touch you now or something? Just because you didn't take your birth control pill for two days doesn't mean I can get you pregnant by touching your arm, Betty. Or kissing you."

She gave him a look, "I know, but...I also know how quickly things move with you, Daniel. Look at this weekend. We started out just as friends and before you know it, we're married with kids, living in London, with you being Mr. Mom!"

He laughed, "Hey, you had the whole kids fantasy just as much as I did, Betty. And personally, I don't care where we live. As long as we're together. The kids...well, I guess we'll just see. But, in the meantime, I'll make a little stop at the drug store, just in case I start 'moving too fast' again and end up kissing you or something, I don't get you pregnant; if you're not already, that is. Is that okay with you?

We're only an hour out of New York, we're making a lot better time so we have plenty of time to stop and get some new clothes, and I'll drop you off at your place so you can shower and get dressed for your interview, then you can call me and let me know how it went. I promise, I'll leave you to get dressed in peace, I won't molest you while you're trying to get ready, okay?

But, as soon as you talk to Dunne, call me, and maybe I can take you out or...just bring over some champagne to celebrate. Or...maybe I should make that grape juice, just in case?" he grinned, as she shook her head, blowing out a breath.

The waitress had set their food in front of them, and Betty nodded, "That sounds great, Daniel. Thanks. Wow, this looks really good! I'm so hungry." he laughed again, and she sighed, "Shut up! You are not funny, Daniel! I wish you COULD get pregnant. You're such a douche, sometimes. I hate you." She started eating voraciously.

He smiled, and took a bite of his sandwich, then leaned over and reached his arm around her, whispering, "You don't hate me, Betty. You're just mad, because you think I have super sperm and can get you pregnant just by looking at you with my sexy blue eyes, right? And you're afraid I'm going to run away and go back to being a man-whore with Becks or something."

She stopped eating and looked at him, "Well, you started off being ridiculous, but yeah, the whole man-whore thing rings a bell, Daniel. Guys suck because they can do that, they can just plant their stupid seeds then run off to go sleep with the next girl and leave the poor girl they got pregnant behind. And forget the fact that she was smart and had a future before. Now, she's got to be the one to take care of the baby by herself!"

He made a time out gesture, "Okay, whoa! Flag on the play, here, Betty! Are we still talking about us now or Hilda? Or your mom? I _know _you can't be talking about us, or about me, because I would NEVER run away from my responsibilities and you know it! I want kids, remember? I would never leave you with a child.

I don't want you to be pregnant right now, just because I know it's not the best time for you and your career. But, hell, I'm ready whenever. Betty, you are not your sister, okay? You have options. Even if you are...you can still work, you can still have a life outside of taking care of kids. Betty, you want kids eventually, right? With me, I hope?"

She sighed, "Yes, of course I do."

"Well,then, it's just a timing issue. Whatever happens, we'll figure it out. Together. Okay? We're a team, remember? We've made a pretty fantastic team for the last four years, and that was at a magazine neither of us were even all that crazy about working at. So, don't you think we can make things work together as a couple or a family or whatever even better, when it's something we do want?"

She blinked back tears and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her forehead against his, "Stop...Daniel, just stop, okay? You had me at hello, hot stuff. I'm already nuts about you. If you keep being this sweet, I'm going to end up wanting to jump you on this table, and we don't have any protection right now. I mean, in case I'm not already knocked up just from your sexy blue eyes." she teased.

He laughed, and kissed her sweetly. As they parted, they both blew out a shaky breath. "Yeah. Okay, let's not get carried away, again. We've got too much stuff to get done before your interview tonight. Then we can...do that." he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then tore himself away from her, trying to get back control.

She nodded, then pushed away her plate, "Right. I'm really full now. I think this soda is filling me up. Plus, I'm getting nervous about the interview tonight. Do you want to go shopping?" He grabbed a bite of his sandwich, and nodded, taking a quick drink, "Sure." He threw down some cash as she pulled his hand, while he took another bite.

They stopped at a small boutique in town. The man who worked there made a face as they approached, "Excuse me, we have a strict no-smoking policy in our store, I'm afraid."

Daniel held out his jacket away from him, "Oh, no. It's not that. We were in a hotel fire. Or at least, our clothes were. That's why we need to buy several outfits. All the ones we brought with us were damaged. So, how about you hook up the lady with some nice dresses and skirts and blouses. Mostly business attire, appropriate for an Editor-in-chief in London, which is what she is. I'm Daniel Meade, Editor-in-chief at Mode in New York right now. So, I'll just need a few suits. I normally don't shop off the rack, but we're in a hurry, so I'll go help myself. I know what sizes and designers I need.

Just help my wife; she's a bit frazzled with the fire damaging some of her new clothing and all as you can imagine. The better you treat her, the bigger your tip, okay, Micheal?" Daniel looked at the man's name tag, and flicked it, then patted it. "Take good care of the lady."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Meade!" The man immediately set about fussing over Betty and helping her to find several skirts and blouses. Then she came out in a dark green dress, similar in style to the dresses they had gotten earlier.

The man started to help Betty with the zipper, but Daniel smiled when he saw her come out of the dressing area, and shooed Michael away. "That's okay, Micheal, I've got this. You can go ring us up, now. We'll take this, too, and this suit I have on, plus the two suits for me I picked out. Thank you." He raised his eyebrows and leaned down to kiss her neck as he put his hands on her zipper. "Now which way do these silly things go? I forget. Is it up or down?"

"Daniel. Don't start. You know we can't do anything."

He smirked. "We can do some stuff. I swear I'll stop."

"Daniel..." He continued to kiss her neck and shoulders, and as she closed her eyes, he turned her slowly around to face him, and pushed up her chin with his finger.

"Yeah?" He got closer, till he was right next to her lips.

She shook her head, "Huh?" He smiled and met her lips with his, as he slid his hands down her arms, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss. She felt herself melting into him, and reached her hands around the back of his head.

After several minutes, they heard some customers in the store, "Look at that! What kind of place is this?"

Betty and Daniel pulled away from one another, and she blushed slightly, but Daniel just laughed, which made Betty start giggling. He leaned down and whispered, "I guess we should get going. We don't want to cause a scandal here, huh?"

She nodded, "I guess so." She was still light-headed from the kiss, and almost lost her footing. He caught her, "You okay?" She nodded. "Mmhmm. You just sort of...made me flustered."

He smirked, "I do what I can."

They went to the front of the store, where Michael was waiting with a big smile, and several bags. They left, each wearing their new clothing.

Daniel dropped her off at her apartment, and wished her good luck in her meeting with Mr. Dunne. He told her he would send a car for her, while he dropped off Bobby's car and waited to hear from her.

He pulled in to Bobby's shop, and handed him the keys, "Thanks for the wheels, man. Sorry about the transmission. But, at least you've got a new one, now."

"Yeah, it wasn't your fault. Glad it got you home in one piece. You okay? You look kind of freaked out or something. I heard you almost hit a deer? And you guys were in a hotel fire? Sounds like a crazy weekend! Did you have fun?"

"Yeah. Maybe a little too much fun." Daniel took a breath, leaning against the door frame.

"How so? Oh...wait, you and chipmunk? I saw how you two were making googly eyes at each other at our wedding! And you danced all night with each other."

Daniel grinned, seeming slightly embarrassed. Bobby handed him a beer from his small fridge in the office. "It's the end of the day. Sit down, take a load off. So, what happened? You two FINALLY hooked up? I mean, hell, you've known each other for four years, so, why not?"

"It's not that. That's great. It's just...listen, if I tell you something, can you keep it a secret from Hilda? I don't want to get in trouble with Betty."

"Sure. I have my secrets from her. Just like I know she's got a few from me. So...what's your big secret?"

"Well, Betty's is that she might be offered a job in London. Tonight. She's at an interview with Lindsay D..."

"Lindsay Dunne, yeah. We heard about that. But I thought she turned that down. That she wants to get out of fashion."

"Yeah, but now he's going to offer her something full time. Not in fashion, but running her own magazine. In London."

"In London? Whoa...Okay. That's huge. How do you feel about that, though, Daniel?"

"What are you, my shrink? How do you think I feel? I told her if she decides to take it, I'm stepping down from Mode and coming with her."

"Really? Wow! That's intense. You don't want to work at Mode anymore?"

He shrugged, taking a drink, "You know, honestly, Bobby, I never did. I did it to prove to my old man that I could do it. He's gone, now. I did it for four years. Mainly because Betty was there, by my side, encouraging me. No way I could have done this job without her. Now...I just want to be with her."

Bobby leaned forward, "You told her you feel that way, I take it?"

Daniel nodded, "Yes. She said she feels the same about me. Which is...great."

"Hey, that one's not news, I'm afraid. I could tell the way she was looking at you. The way she talks about you non-stop. Daniel, Daniel, Daniel. Every time Hilda and me are around her, that's all we hear, is what's going on with you. She's nuts about you."

Daniel smiled. "Yeah, I feel the same about her."

"So why do you still look worried? You should be on cloud nine."

"We had a little...accident. We got so excited about everything going on and then there was the fire and we were having such a good time that...she forgot to take her..."

Bobby's eyes got wide, "Oh, OH!"

"Yeah."


	26. Chapter 26

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 26

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!_

Betty listened nervously as Lindsay Dunne offered her a full-time position as Managing Editor of the new magazine he wanted to launch in only three months. She tried to keep her wits about her, but her head was swirling with all that had happened this past weekend on her little road trip with Daniel.

She nodded, and commented at all the right times, pretending to be giving her full attention to the man who had crossed an ocean to offer her the job of her dreams. She knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her. But, what about her and Daniel? His sweet offer to step down at Mode and travel with her to London made her heart feel like it was about to burst.

She could scarcely believe that very same Daniel Meade that had women throwing themselves at him constantly actually was in love with her! It was way too much to process. Especially in such a short span of time.

She felt like the past three and a half days had been some kind of movie she was watching, not really feeling fully aware of all that was going on around her. And the possible pregnancy? She had gone through the emotional roller coaster with Matt less than a year ago. You would think she would NEVER EVER forget to take her birth control pills after that little nightmare! Although, still, she didn't feel nearly as panicky as she had then.

But being with Daniel had been so... unbelievable, so amazing. The man literally took her breath away! Especially the way he kept talking to her like she was so beautiful, so wonderful...it was too much for the "ugly girl from Queens" who grew up looking at people like Daniel as if they were from another planet. Then, as she had gotten to know him, really see that he was a person, just like her with real problems, like he had told her back when he first came back to her house and apologized for his terrible treatment of her and asked her to come back to work.

That had been the start of something that changed her life completely. That day, seeing Daniel as just a man, with his own problems and hardships. But friendship was one thing. Their close, friendly working relationship Betty had become comfortable with and knew how to navigate. But a romantic one? It was completely unfathomable!

She somehow managed to smile and remind herself to breathe often enough not to pass out, and fake her way through the interview that was thankfully, merely a formality at this point. She didn't jump at the offer, however. She politely thanked Mr. Dunne for taking the time out of his busy schedule to meet with her in person and for his wonderful offer. Then she told him that since her father had a heart condition she had some concerns about working abroad and would like twenty-four hours to be certain she was ready to make such a huge move.

He nodded in understanding and told Betty his aging mother, too had poor health and he could appreciate her hesitance to be so far away from her father. Honestly, Ignacio's health had greatly improved since his heart attack, but Betty hoped she would be forgiven for using it as an excuse to have some time to think.

She didn't know if she was quite comfortable enough with Mr. Dunne to confess that actually, she was worried she might, in fact, be pregnant and that she had just begun a romantic relationship with her best friend and didn't really want to ask him to follow her across an ocean. Not the kind of things to bring up at an interview!

She smiled, and somehow managed not to trip over her own feet getting into a cab back to her apartment. On the way home, she text-ed Daniel that she had, in fact, been offered the job, but had asked for a day to think it over. He wrote back right away, congratulating her and telling her he was proud of her and he would see her in an hour at her place, and asked her to please put back on the green dress she had just gotten. She sent back a smiley face and 'see you soon'.

She shook her head, thinking there was never going to be another man in her life that even came close to Daniel. He was everything she ever wanted AND a bag of chips! Or make that an order of chili cheese fries, _darn, why was she __SO hungry, all of a sudden? Crap...did that mean she WAS-?_ This was going to be the longest week of her life, she realized.

She shook it off and told herself to listen to what Daniel had cautioned her about projecting too much into the what ifs. He was right, she knew. She got out of the cab and went up to her apartment, then quickly got changed into the beautiful dark green dress Daniel had bought her earlier.

She decided to put her hair up and wear her contacts again tonight. When she opened the door for him, she smiled widely, seeing him look extremely handsome in the black Armani suit he had just gotten and black shirt, with his signature purple tie. She giggled, as he handed her a lovely dozen red roses.

"I know you normally prefer daisies, but I figured this was kind of a red rose sort of date. I associate daisies more with friendship, and roses more with romance. Plus I know you got them from your ex-goofball boyfriend, and I want no association with the guy who broke your heart.

Why are you laughing? Because I brought you flowers? Is it this suit? It's not tailored, so..."

She shook her head and pulled him down to whisper, "No, I like it. I just can't believe Daniel Meade actually wearing a suit he bought off the rack and it looks great! Of course, you always look great, Daniel." She smiled at him and he put one hand on her cheek.

"Thanks, Betty. Speaking of looking great." He twirled her around, "You look...amazing. Aww...you got it zipped up yourself? Well, maybe I can help you with the unzipping later?" he grinned, looking at her hopefully.

She blushed, "We'll see about that. Are you armed and dangerous?"

He realized what she meant and laughed, "Uh...yeah. I came prepared. Just in case. You were feeling, you know, frisky tonight."

"Well, Daniel," She tried to look tough and menacing but it just came out silly, "I guess you've got to ask yourself one question, do you feel lucky? Well, do you...punk?" she laughed.

He nodded, laughing at her, and pulled her close to him, "Well, yeah. I mean, anytime I'm close to you, I feel lucky, Betty. But as far as me feeling _that_ kind of lucky...I guess that's up to you, I _hope_ so. Great Clint Eastwood, by the way, schmoopie!"

She took the lovely roses from him and put them in a vase, setting them on the table. He watched her carefully. When she returned, he was sitting on the couch. She came and sat next to him and he put his arm around her, and handed her a small piece of paper. She looked up at him, questioningly, "What's this, Daniel?"

He nodded, "Read it, please, Betty. I value your opinion more than anyone's. Just like you said you value mine."

She saw his familiar looped hand-writing, and noticed a few words crossed out, but started reading it silently. He put his hand on it. "Can you read it to me? So I know if it sounds stupid?" She nodded and began reading. She read his letter from the editor, talking about the upcoming hundredth anniversary issue that they had worked on together.

She had promised to write the article about him and helped him pick out an appropriate picture to use_**. **_They had laughed and had such a great time, it had seemed like a date. The last few paragraphs jumped off the page, and her heart started pounding. She had to keep herself from breaking down as she read them softly. Daniel, too seemed moved to hear her read his tender words out loud.

_"Heck, maybe it was as simple as your friend getting a makeover. Or perhaps that friend was undergoing her own life change, one in which she would no longer be present in your life,__compelling you to make your own change to keep her in it, __even if it were in a new context._

_Or maybe one day something just changed inside you in the way you saw that good friend, causing you to want her to be more than, well, just a friend. _

_Often the changes in attitude that are the most powerful are rooted in causes that come from without and within. When that unusual synergy occurs, love is often the result. And take it from me: Love is the one attitude that never goes out of fashion."_

"Daniel, that's...beautiful. Thank you."

"Betty, I want you to know, I've already talked to my mom, Alexis, and Wilhelmina. I've given my notice. Even if you decide to stay in New York, I don't want to work at Mode anymore. I need a change, like that says. I want to start over. I want to leave playboy Daniel Meade behind. The one who was a jerk to women in college and up until you taught me better.

I don't ever want to be that guy again. But...I need your help. Just like you said you promised my dad you'd help me, I'm hoping you'll never want to give up being on my team. I promise, I'll do the same for you. You jump; I'll jump, right? I'm excited about whatever we do, as long as we're in it together, nothing really seems that scary.

So, what can I do tonight to make your decision about London easier? Do you want to go out on the town and enjoy New York for maybe one of the last times? Or...do you want to research things about London you are looking forward to doing? Or...do you want to go do some more dancing in that great dress before I take it off you?"

She smiled, "Well...I guess, we could go out and enjoy the town. I love New York. And maybe we could do some dancing, too. You should know I've already done my research on London. And, I must admit, the idea of living there, especially doing a job I've been dreaming about for so long does seem really exciting, too. What about you? I know you've been there a lot more than I have. Do you think you could...live there, Daniel? What do you think you would do?"

He smiled, "I knew you'd ask me that, Betty."

"Oh, you did, huh? I know, I know. You know me so well."

"I do. I brought a list of possible career plans to consider. Here. Let me know which ones sound best to you." She laughed out loud as she read the list he had put on his phone.

_Daniel's Possible New Careers:_

_King of England _

_Queen of England_

_Prince of England_

_Princess of England_

_Duke of Earl, Ellington, or Windsor knots?_

_Advertising executive_

_Stay-at-home dad?_

_Betty's sex slave/office man-slut/boy toy_

He pointed to the last two. "I personally like the last two the best. I mean, the stay at home thing depends on you, of course. If one of the benefits of our road trip doesn't turn out to be a little bundle of joy, I can put that one on hold for now, and just do the advertising thing on my own and be on call for the sex slave/office slut thing.

I think I actually might prefer the official title of boy toy. It makes me sound younger, like you've got me on a leash or something in the executive break room, just waiting for you to have time for me to service you."

She laughed even harder as he smiled at her. She put her head against his, "You're insane, Daniel. I..._really _love you, you know that? You're incredible. I still can't believe you would be willing to do all this for me. You're the most wonderful man I've ever met. I can't believe you started out being such a jerk! I'm really glad I came back after that first week!" She teased.

He laughed, "Yeah, I know. It just goes to show how the four year program in the Betty Suarez school of how to be a real man changes a guy. From man-whore to Prince Charming, and back to man-slut, only for your personal pleasure."

He grinned, then stood up and pulled her towards him, holding her waist and brushing her hair out of her face, "So...night on the town? To celebrate...a new life in London town, and both of our new jobs. You as the Editor-in-chief of your own magazine and me, as Queen of England!" He finished in a high, squeaky voice and did his best 'royal wave'

She nodded, laughing as she got her coat. He went to put it on her, and leaned down, whispering, "Just so you know, Betty. I'm trying _really_ hard _not_ to secretly wish for a little Bridget or Craig right now. I can wait."

"Colin." She shook her head, as they headed out the door.

"Craig. You're not the boss, Betty. I'M the Queen, remember?"


	27. Chapter 27

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 27

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!_

At the end of the evening, Betty was trying not to let on how much her feet hurt from wearing the Jimmy Choo's that she had gotten as 'swag' last season and decided to wear.

After a romantic dinner at 'One If By Land Two If By Sea', they decided to get out of the town car and take a walk on 'their bridge'.

Very quickly, Daniel got wise to Betty's pain. He teased her, "What's with the stiletto's, Betty? Are you trying to look all sexy for me tonight?"

She gave him an evil glare, not only for his teasing her, but saying that it wasn't fair men didn't have to wear heels. "Do you know that everything Fred Astaire did, Ginger did backwards and in these crazy things? I'd like to see a man do THAT?" She took off one of the heels and shook it in his face.

He laughed, backing off away from her shoe, not altogether sure she wasn't planning on beaning him with it. "Sorry, Betty. I have a feeling I'm about ready to get more of the 'you suck, because you're a man' speech. Is this one because I think I'm a better driver because I have a penis, or I'm a big jerk like all us men who are just a bunch of pigs because we don't have to worry about getting pregnant?"

"Daniel...I'm sorry. I am being a real pain, aren't I? And here, you took me to the most romantic restaurant and brought me beautiful roses and wrote that awesome letter from the editor." She looked as if she was getting choked up, "Wow, I just realized something, Daniel. If you actually publish that letter, people are going to know it's about me! Are you sure you're ready to...say something like that?"

He blinked, surprised she wasn't really thinking things through, it seemed. "Uh, honey, I think they might notice I'm not there and connect the dots anyway when they find out I followed you to London, don't you? I mean, I know there are a lot of people who work at Mode that aren't exactly the smartest in the world, but..."

"Oh, my God, you're right, Daniel. What is wrong with me? I'm really not thinking... First, I'm starving, I ate everything off my plate tonight and half the things off yours, then I bite your head off for no reason, or I want to cry because I'm so sentimental and now...I'm really acting dumb! Oh, God, Daniel, I MUST be pregnant! My boobs are really sore, too. That's one thing Hilda kept saying is how tender her boobs were." She was talking a mile a minute in her little self-realization.

He tried not to laugh, as she 'felt' herself up. "Uh, you sort of remind me of Alexis when she woke up from her coma and thought she was a guy again. Will you stop doing that? Or at least let ME do it for you?" he pulled her hands down, looking around. "Betty, you're just being paranoid, honey. You don't know anything for sure yet. Just try not to think about...you know what, never mind. Even as I'm saying this, I know, it's all either one of us will be thinking about all week.

But, remember, we also have your job to focus on. So, from how excited you seemed to be talking about it tonight, I take it you have definitely decided you're going to accept Mr. Dunne's offer?"

She bit her bottom lip. "I guess so. I don't know for sure, though, Daniel. What do you think I should do? Pretend you're a caveman or something. Don't be the supportive twenty-first century Mr. Mom guy right now. Think like a nineteen fifties or sixties Mr. Cleaver. What would Ward tell June to do if she got a job offer in London, but thought she might be pregnant?"

"Well, first of all, I don't even know how they had Wally and the Beav back then. Didn't they used to show them having separate beds?"

"I don't know. Maybe Ward came and paid June visits in hers some nights. Whatever."

"Yeah. June was okay, I guess. She was a little old to have any more kids. They both seemed a little older. I always liked the whole thing about her vacuuming in pearls, though. That's kind of hot."

"DANIEL! I'm serious!"

He shrugged, and put his arm around her, laughing, "Betty, sweetie, I don't know what to tell you. It's your decision, not mine. Yes, it does affect me. But, I realize I do have more options than you do in this case.

I'll tell you two things, though. First of all, I'll be here, or rather there in London, with you. Wherever you are, Betty Suarez, that's where I want to be. And that isn't going to change whether you're having my baby or not. Because I love you, uh...irregardless of babies. Got it?"

She smiled, trying to blink back her stupid tears again, and reached up to pull him down to her, and whispered, "What's the second thing?"

He got closer and in his low, sexy voice he said in her ear, "The second thing is I want to take you home now and make love to you all night. Is that okay with you?"

She blushed and put one hand on his cheek, looking deeply into his eyes, and smiling,

"Wow, I don't think I could have predicted you saying _that_ to me, when we first stood on this bridge, Daniel."

"Why not? I think we had a great time together that night. Honestly, Betty. That was like...the best date I'd ever had up till then, I think. But I always have a great time with you. Didn't you notice how I sort of just stopped dating pretty much this past year?"

"Well, except for Trista and sex with Amanda. But, I suppose, in your book, sex doesn't mean dating. If that's the case, you NEVER dated all that much. You just went straight to sex."

"Okay, okay. True enough. Although, even you've got to admit sex is pretty much the best part of dating."

"Well, I'd say that depends on who your dating. But, I agree, it's usually at least in the top five."

They stood quietly for a few minutes, looking at the city. A mist had started coming in as the night changed to early morning.

"It's a nice night, isn't it?" Daniel finally commented, looking a bit nervous and almost fidgety.

"Beautiful." Betty replied. Silence followed again.

Then Daniel looked at her, concern written on his face, "Betty?"

"Yes, Daniel?"

"Uh, how are you...holding up?"

"Fine."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Are you trying to show off how well you know me again?"

He nodded, smiling meekly as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I guess maybe. I don't blame you for freaking out, though, Betty. These are some really big decisions you're dealing with and I just hope I'm not making things more difficult for you.

It's a huge deal to think of moving to London, so far away from your friends and family and a new job, and here I come along, expecting you to start a new relationship at the same time, too."

She narrowed her eyes, "Don't tell me you're having second thoughts, Daniel."

He put his hands up, "No! No, it's not that. I just don't want to be one more thing for you to have to worry about, that's all. Believe me, I'm not trying to 'get out' of anything with us, Betty. This is not my exit strategy, I promise you. I just wish I knew how to take some of the stress off you."

She took a deep breath, "Well, I was thinking. You've been doing the job of Editor-in-chief for four years now. So, I figure if YOU can do it, I'm sure ANYBODY can!" She teased.

He rolled his eyes, nodding and smirking at her, "Gee, thanks, Betty."

She laughed, "I'm kidding, Daniel. Actually, I was thinking it might be kind of nice, having a boyfriend with me when I move to London, especially one who is so familiar with the job. And one who knows London a lot more than I do. Plus...one who's sweet and helpful and very sexy."

He grinned, looking like a little boy, Betty thought as he took her hands, "Thanks, Betty. I sort of like having you call me your boyfriend. How is it that whenever I start out trying to give you a pep talk, you always end up giving me one?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe because you suck at them sometimes?"

He hit her arm lightly , "Shut up, Betty! I do not suck. You know, you're really mean when you're pregnant."

"Daniel...Not funny."

"Sorry. Just kidding." He blew on her hands and rubbed them, "It's starting to get a little chilly out here. And you're not even wearing your socks tonight!"

She hit his arm, "You shut up, Daniel!"

He laughed, "Well, let's see, we could walk, or I could carry you again, I guess, but...ah, no need, here comes our ride now."

She looked down the road, coming up the bridge and saw a white horse and carriage. Her eyes widened, "Daniel...uh, what's going on?" She felt like her heart was pounding a mile a minute.


	28. Chapter 28

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 28

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!_

_The next chapter will be the last in this little 'road trip' story of mine. It will be a little bit of a time jump, into their lives in London. _

_Thanks for coming along for the ride, bumps and all. I will post the last chapter as soon as possible. I HAD seriously toyed with the idea of saving the next part for an epilogue or even sequel at some distant future date, but I figured you'd stone me if I left you hanging indefinitely on the 'baby issue'! Glad you've enjoyed it. Thanks for your support!_

* * *

Daniel tried to keep from smiling, as he helped Betty into the carriage his mother had helped him hire for the occasion. He also had a few other little surprises up his sleeve for his 'princess' tonight. He couldn't help feeling a bit nervous, however.

Betty felt like she was going to hyperventilate. She couldn't help but think this little scenario bore a strong resemblance to the 'dream proposal' she and Daniel had cooked up to fool everyone at the re-union. But, of course, she didn't want to get her hopes up or anything. Who knew, maybe the man just wanted to take a little carriage ride. Along FDR drive, overlooking the East River...

He waited until she got inside, and sat next to her, covering them with a blanket. "I just thought you said something about wanting to take a carriage, so I figured this would be fun, going for a ride, you know?" He looked somewhat nervous and she just nodded her head,

"Uh huh. Okay, Daniel. Sounds...fun. It's definitely a lot warmer than walking. And it feels a lot better on my feet, that's for sure. Thanks. This was thoughtful." She smiled up at him, feeling unsure what to say to him. He looked so awkward and shy, Betty didn't quite know what to make of seeing the former 'Most Eligible Bachelor' seem so unsure of himself suddenly.

She cleared her throat. "It's getting foggy."

"Yeah. Looks like London, huh?"

She nodded, "I guess so. I was never out this early in the morning there. Well, except for that one night I stayed up drinking with the girls and then, I was too tired and drunk to remember how foggy it was outside before we crashed in the hotel."

He nodded, then suddenly looked up, seemingly inspired, "Betty, do you remember when I told you I would never have lasted at Mode without you helping me?"

She nodded.

He continued, looking into her eyes, "I want to not just repay you for all you've done for me at Mode these past four years; but to really _be there_ for you in London completely. I know we just got together this weekend, _unless_ you count our dancing all night at your sister's wedding, or our 'date' on the bridge years ago, or the other night, working on the anniversary issue, or...all those many, many nights we've spent these past four years.

But, on the other hand, why _shouldn't_ we be allowed to count that as our dating time? I mean, just because we were 'only friends', what does that matter? Don't you first want to have a solid friendship like ours _before_ you get into a romantic relationship? I think it SHOULD be that way. I know the uh...sex part is still new for us, but so what? Plenty of people don't have sex at all before they get married. Or at least, they claim they don't!

"Daniel, did you just say _married_?" her eyes widened.

He shook his head, berating himself, "Uh, no. Well, I mean, yes, maybe, but, I'm sorry, I just meant to say, I want you to feel like you can count on me in London, that's all. I'm not going anywhere once we get settled. I don't want you to doubt that I'm in this relationship for the long haul, sweetie. I'm not going to come running back here the minute we have a fight or something.

And about the whole, you know, pregnancy thing, that doesn't matter one little bit to me. That's not right. I don't mean it doesn't matter. Of _course_ it matters! It matters a lot. It's just...I was going to uh, do this. Um...tell you how much I love you and that I want to be with you in London before I even knew you might be...you know."

She nodded, trying not to grin at how adorable Daniel was being right now. She loved how cute he was when he was nervous. She couldn't honestly say she remembered a time when he seemed _this_ awkward and unsure of himself before. It was extremely sexy to see the man so exposed. Especially when _she_ was the reason for his vulnerability.

After about twenty minutes, she looked around, "We're turning away from the river, unto Fifth Avenue? Why are we stopping? What's here? OH! Oh, wow...wow...oh my goodness, um...Daniel?"

He didn't say a word, but got out and put his hands on her waist to help her down, "Come on. Nigel's been waiting for us."

"Nigel?" Daniel smirked, knowing full well Betty was aware who his 'friend' Nigel was...

He took her to the front of the store, which was closed to the public, but of course, not to Daniel Meade, one of it's most valued customers. The Meades were well-known to do all their jewelry shopping at Tiffany & Company. And Nigel was eagerly awaiting the Meade heir and his lady 'friend'.

Daniel whispered as he held her getting out, "Yeah, who knows, if you play your cards right, maybe I'll get you breakfast while we're here, Betty."

He led her in, holding her hand tightly. Betty was the one shaking now. Daniel smiled broadly at his old family friend.

"Nigel, hey! Thanks for coming in so early. Or is it like us and staying up late for you, too?" Daniel smiled, now seeming to get over his nervousness a bit and his normal confidence somewhat returning as he saw Betty's eyes wide and noticed her biting her lower lip. She wasn't running for the door, though, and he took that as a very good sign at this point, since he knew, she had most definitely figured out what he was about to do by now. It was now or never.

He took a deep breath, giving Nigel a nod and the man disappeared, and a small string quartet came out from behind the drapes and began playing 'their song'. Betty put her hand to her mouth, and stifled a giggle, "DANIEL! Oh, my God, you're so...sweet and awesome!"

She fought back tears, as he got on one knee and grinned, motioning around to all the display cases that were lit up. "Take your pick. Because I know you're unique and beautiful in your own way, I want YOU to pick the one that's your favorite, schmoopy. Since we first met, it's always been about me and my every little want and desire. But that's about to change. From now on, it's about you, _babe._

Betty Suarez, I love you. I don't really know exactly how long I've _been_ in love with you, but I know I always will be. And I know now that NOTHING else matters. Not where we live or where we work, or if we become parents or whatever else is going on in our lives. Because the best times in my life have all been since I met you and _because_ of you.

I know I HAVE to follow you wherever you go, because I can't live without you. I'd swim across the East River for you, I'll fly across the Atlantic for you, I'll let you do most of the driving, I'll learn to cook for you, since you're cooking is so terrible, heck, I'll even stay at home and change poopy diapers for you, if you want. As long as I get to see your beautiful smile every day, Betty. Will you marry me, please?"

Daniel saw that Betty was trying to wipe away the tears streaming down her face, and messing up her makeup. He laughed, and started to offer her a handkerchief, but didn't seem to have one. The quartet had finished playing and the woman cellist quickly handed him hers. He gave it to Betty, who wiped her eyes, and blew her nose. She grinned and nodded, enthusiastically, smiling from ear-to-ear.

Daniel raised one eyebrow, "Uh, I think I'm going to actually have to HEAR you say the word, Betty. Was that a...yes?"

"YES, Of course, Daniel, yes, yes, yes!" She jumped up and down and threw her arms around him, making him laugh, as her hair came tumbling down, but she didn't seem to care.

He smiled, hugging her tightly to him, then holding her face in his hands, "You're going to marry me?"

"You're darn right I am! Do you think I'm CRAZY?"

"Um...no comment, but I'll take the yes." He laughed, then pulled her in for a sweet kiss, as the musicians clapped and cheered for them, and Nigel came out, clapping for the happy couple, as well.

He couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret, knowing one of his best customers was leaving the country for who knew how long, but then again, he did have his own family back in London, so perhaps he might put in for that transfer he'd been considering for some time now.

After all, there would still be anniversaries, holidays and birthday gifts and if they did have a child, especially a little girl, he could retire happily in Surrey in a few years, seeing how crazy the young man was about this Betty, he had no doubt he would be spoiling her and any children they had for years to come.


	29. Chapter 29

**Lost on the Road**

Chapter 29

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty!_

_A/N: This is the last chapter of what started out as a short little 'road trip' tale. There will be some big time jumps in this, since it is sort of an epilogue chapter. Thanks for supporting this story so much. I'm glad you enjoyed it!_

* * *

There were certain moments that Betty Suarez recognized as defining moments in her life, forks in the road, if you will. One of them, was of course, when her mother died. Hilda's pregnancy with Justin, the day Betty applied for a job at Meade Publications, and the day Daniel came back to apologize for treating her so terribly her first week and asked her to come back at Mode.

But most of those changes took some time to make a real difference in her life. She worked for Daniel for

four years, and the changes that took place in her life as a result were more subtle, and took time to develop, like their friendship.

However, her last minute decision to go with him on a road trip to his class re-union at Harvard made an immediate and far-reaching difference in their relationship.

Her job offer to move to London, which she felt compelled to accept, since it could mean the fulfillment of her life-long dream of running her own magazine, seemed to happen overnight. The goal she had declared to her family numerous times, to Daniel and his mother was now becoming a reality.

In the meantime, during their road trip, she and Daniel after four years as best friends had taken the leap to become more than friends. Much more. When they returned, he chose to make another of her 'dreams' come true by proposing to her, complete with the carriage ride from their beloved bridge, just as she had envisioned.

_One Week Later-_

More forks in the road came, when the following week brought them the news they both had been secretly hoping for; that Betty was indeed, pregnant. At first, the minute the doctor told them, Daniel looked into her eyes, worried he would see panic or disappointment there. But, happily he saw the same reaction he was having mirrored in her eyes, joy.

"Are you...okay with this, Betty?" The beautiful smile he had grown to love spread across her face, "Yes, of course, I'm okay with it, Daniel. We're having a baby! I knew it. I could just tell. I felt...different, somehow. I told you, my boobs hurt, just like Hilda said hers did with Justin."

He laughed, "Yes, and thanks for letting me be the one to check those out for you, babe. That was...nice." He teased. "I mean, sexy, of course!" She rolled her eyes, as he hugged her then held her face, "I love you, my little _mommy_."

She smiled, tears forming, "I love you, too, _daddy_."

He twirled her around, and started kissing her face all over, "I'm so happy, Betty! Thank you, sweetie. I can't wait to be a father. And _you_ are going to be the best mom in the world. Even if you can't cook. That's okay. Your dad's been showing me some stuff. He said your mom wasn't a great cook, either. He was the chef in the family. So, I'll be your chef, too. And I promised to stay home and take care of little Craig or Bridgee."

"Bridgee? And we've talked about this before, Daniel. What is so terrible about Colin? We're going to be living in England. Colin's a very common name there. He won't get teased."

He took her hand, shaking his head, "Bridgee, because of you know, our bridge? And as far as the Colin thing goes, I've got over eight months to convince you it's too girly. I can be very convincing when I want to be, Betty. After all, I convinced you to marry me over the course of a weekend road trip, didn't I?" He smirked, putting his arm around her as they left the doctor's office.

Betty wanted to be honest with her new boss, so she called Mr. Dunne the minute they found out for sure she was pregnant and although he was somewhat surprised, he had no issues with Betty's news, especially on learning that she would be accompanied by a very supportive fiancee, who had promised to help her every step of the way.

As for Daniel, he was practically 'glowing' himself the minute he heard for sure Betty was definitely pregnant. He had been on pins and needles the entire week, trying to tell himself it didn't matter, either way. Even if she wasn't, they could always 'keep practicing' and later, when things weren't so stressful might be better, anyway.

But, on finding out the happy news, he called his mother, he called Alexis and DJ, he called Becks, and even Wilhelmina, bragging to everyone he could think of to share the happy news.

Betty laughed at his hesitation to enter her Queen's home, to face her father. She pulled on his hand, as they arrived. Betty, for her part had already alerted her family and friends that she and Daniel would be finding out and so, everyone was there, waiting to hear the word. When she and Daniel got there, he stopped her, whispering, "Is your dad going to kill me?"

She shrugged, trying to sound mysterious,"He has killed before. A man in Mexico. But, he likes you, so...you should be okay. But, stay close, just in case..." She couldn't keep a straight face, seeing Daniel's discomfort, "Daniel, I'm kidding! It's fine; Papi loves you. You did come here before you proposed and got his permission. He appreciated you respecting him like that."

"Yeah, well, that's before he knew I uh...knocked up his baby daughter, too, Betty. Dads don't usually take kindly to that kind of thing. I know if Bridget came home with some guy who got her pregnant, I'd probably want to shoot him!"

She shook her head, "Well, my dad's not like that. Although, he did scare Santos pretty much." She laughed again, seeing Daniel's concern, and hit his shoulder, "Daniel, God, you're so easy to mess with on this! Papi will be happy to be an abuelo again. It's going to be fine, you'll see. Look, Justin made a party for us!"

Daniel looked around, seeing streamers and banners saying, "Congratulations" and balloons, and smelled the delicious foods Mr. Suarez had prepared, but he looked at Betty, "That's probably just for your job offer, Betty."

She hadn't told Daniel her family already had been told about the prospect of a baby. She just liked giving him a hard time sometimes, she thought, smiling to herself. She couldn't help remembering the first time she had brought him home, drunk from the bar on Union Square, when he was her boss, who had drunk himself into a coma over another woman, a woman who later only humiliated him.

He had perhaps not made the best first impression on her family, she thought, but he had redeemed himself over the years, starting with his generously buying them a Christmas tree they couldn't afford, and having movie stars come over, as well as staying to help decorate the tree. Then, later sending her whole family to Mexico to help her father with his citizenship.

Yes, Daniel had a really good heart and he was pretty terrific in the grand gesture department, too. Like his amazing proposal, and his willingness to be there for Betty like she had for him, by coming to London with her, leaving his life in New York behind to make a life with her and now, their child together.

Betty laughed, seeing Daniel's face when they walked in and she only had to nod yes, before her whole family, Ignacio, Elena, Hilda, Justin, Austin, and Bobby all cheered for them and gathered round to congratulate them both.

Daniel looked overwhelmed at their outpouring. She smiled at him, and leaned in to whisper, "See? I told you my family would be very happy for us, Daniel. I mean, after all, you did propose already. A whole week ago. Technically, you proposed and I said yes on our trip, if you remember. So, this isn't exactly a shotgun wedding."

He smiled, recalling how swept up into his 'fake proposal' she had seemed to be. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. You DID say yes, didn't you? I guess I should have just let you keep the fake ring my mom let us borrow, and saved myself a few grand."

She looked at the beautiful ring she had picked out, a stunning Lucida with a gold setting, and Daniel had insisted she at least get two and a half carats, she wanted much smaller, and he refused, telling her people would accuse him of being too cheap if she got one any smaller. He remembered Sofia choosing the largest one of the several he had offered her. Thank God he had 'traded up' so far as fiancees went, he thought.

The time before they had to leave for England came all too quickly, and they said their farewells to everyone in New York somewhat sadly. The staff at Mode threw them a going away, getting married, having a baby party, when they left. Even Marc and Amanda wished them both well, hugging Betty and congratulating them both.

Surprisingly, Wilhelmina told Daniel he finally had shown he had some balls, having the faith to start over in a new country, and 'finally be a man' for his new family. He couldn't decide if she was drunk on champagne or just overjoyed that he had finally given her what she always wanted, sole control of Mode.

Claire could scarcely believe her little 'trick' of pairing the two up as make-believe husband and wife and sending them off on a weekend road trip had actually gotten Daniel's head out of his ass when it came to declaring his feelings for Betty, but had given her another grandchild, and a wedding in London, in a few months, after Betty's new magazine had launched!

She realized she would miss her son and his new family, but determined she would fly to Europe much more often, dividing her time between her two children and grandchildren. Plus, of course, she would still have her third child, Tyler here in New York to catch up with all the years they had missed. And if she knew Amanda, she might have another wedding to plan and another grandchild or two in the horizon here.

_Three Months Later-_

Betty's launch went off amid lots of stress, and hair-pulling. Her first issue was out and it seemed to be quite the success. She insisted on using Daniel as her first cover. She teased him, calling him 'the modern day Prince Charming' and talked him into dressing up in a stupid old-fashioned outfit (to his way of thinking). But, because he had promised to support her, and also because she bribed him with sex, he did it, receiving tons of calls from his former college and post-college drinking and carousing 'buddies', like Becks who teased him to no end for it. He didn't care.

At the end of the day, when he saw Betty, wearing one of the sexy teddies he had gone with her to buy, he knew he was the lucky one. Let Becks and those other stupid guys go out with a different girl every night of the week.

He came in to the bedroom, stripping as he went and almost tripping, trying to get out of his clothes as fast as possible. He knew, he would do anything she asked of him. He would gladly, "swim the East River in January" if she wanted. Whatever it took to keep the love of this amazing woman.

"Thanks, sweetie. You are my prince, you know that? I love you. It's selling like hot cakes. Ooh, hot cakes."

He sighed, as he crawled on the bed with her, "Fine, schmoopie-butt, I'll be happy to make you pancakes, but sex first, food later, okay? You made a promise. I took crap from all my friends. Becks was laughing so hard I just hung up on him,then he left three messages all of him laughing. That deserves some pretty terrific 'thank you sex' if you ask me, Betty. I humiliated myself for you."

"Hey, well, I'm still marrying you next week, Daniel. So, stop complaining and kiss me, Prince Charming. This Cinderella is pregnant and that means I want lots of sex AND lots of food!"

"Well, just don't spin me off the bed this time, okay? On our wedding night, I think I'm taking the sheets off, just in case!"

She rolled her eyes, kissing him seductively on his stomach, "I have one _tiny, little clumsy moment_! You're never going to let me forget that, are you, Daniel?"

He shook his head, grinning, as he went to move her hair aside and start planting kisses down her shoulder."Nope. Betty, honey, you broke my d..."

She rolled her eyes, "Daniel, I clearly didn't break anything. You sure recovered fast enough. That's the weekend you got me pregnant, so I'm pretty sure I probably just knocked the kinks out!"

He laughed, "Okay. If you say so." He then pushed down the strap of her silky blue outfit that was sexy, but soon to be tossed aside, as he cupped her left breast and began kissing his way to her stomach. He tenderly kissed it and started talking to her belly, "You know, when I first met mommy, she didn't quite look like the princess she does now. She was kind, though, and sweet. Still kind of bossy and pushy, just like she still is now, of course. I'm sure that will never change, and I still love her, just the way she is." he grinned up at her.

She laughed at first, then protested at his last comment, "Hey! Daniel...be nice!"

He smiled, and continued kissing her as he slid down her clothing and she gladly gave him his 'reward'.

_18 Months Later_

Betty came home early when she got a text from Daniel that something great had just happened with Bridget. Betty came running in the door, excitedly, "What did she do?"

"She said 'daddy' Bridgee, come on, say it again. Let mommy hear you say it. Say 'daddy'. I swear, I heard her, plain as day, Betty. She said it. I'll give you a cookie, Bridgee. Come on...schmoopie." The little girl merely babbled and cooed sweetly, but with no recognizable sounds.

"Daniel...please don't call our daughter by that silly pet name you call me! Bridgee is okay. But schoopie... sounds like a dog or something! And I'm not sure babies talk this soon. She's only eight months old!"

He put his hands on his hips, "Yes, but she's smart. She said it. You'll see. I'm going to set up one of those surveillance cameras and leave it going. Then, when she does something really brilliant like call her old man daddy while he's feeding her his delicious breakfast, you can see I'm not crazy. How are things going today, anyway?"

She shrugged, grabbing a bite of the oatmeal Daniel had been feeding the baby. "This is good. You should be a chef, Daniel. No fair. How come you can cook better than I can? I tried to make toast and I burnt it."

He shook his head, feeding her some bacon and then giving her a kiss. "It's okay. You're good at other things. Fun things. I'm not complaining. We can afford to eat out. But, I like cooking sometimes. Your dad's right. It is relaxing and it helps me think of good ideas for my advertisers. Of course, so does..."

"Sex, yes, I know. Daniel. Sex is good for the heart, and for the brain, and is the best exercise, I've heard all these arguments before. It's very convincing. You're a fantastic advertising man; you could sell the Brooklyn Bridge to people in the desert, sweetie. And believe me, I'd LOVE to stay here and have sex with you, but … I've...got...to..."

He kept kissing her and she threw the mail she had been sorting down and put her arms around him, "Mmm...no fair. You always win arguments this way, Daniel. You're too good a kisser to say no to." He grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.

"Does that mean you're staying home now? It's four thirty, Betty. You went in at six this morning. That's over ten hours. Plus, you know you'll have your lap top out tonight, when we get Bridget asleep. Come on, baby, you've got to slow down a little. We never see you. I miss you. Your daughter should be saying 'mommy' first, not 'daddy'. As much as I want her to say both, I think you're missing out here on what's most important.

I know you love your job, and I'm happy for you. But, I watched my dad and mom's marriage fall apart because he was so determined to build this big empire as his legacy. He made his dream a reality. What did it get him?

His wife who loved him ended up an alcoholic who killed his mistress. His first-born son who he idolized hated who he was and became a woman. And me! Well, until I met you, I was a complete mess. I was a total loser. Betty, honey, we need you at home more. You've got to find some balance. I know I can do my job at home, and I love spending time with Bridget. But, I want to spend more time with you, too."

She had tears in her eyes, but she was smiling. "Daniel. I will. I promise. I'm sorry I've been working so hard since we came to London. You don't know how much I appreciate all you've done. All you've sacrificed for me and Bridget. All the time you've spent being such a great daddy. And you're a wonderful husband, too. I came home early not just because of Bridget's first word, but I have some news. I..."

He smiled, "You're pregnant again, aren't you?"

She nodded, "No fair, you really do know me, don't you? Are you happy?"

He kept a straight face, "That depends on two things. First, you have to wait at least a few months before you go back to work this time, and come home at least by five every day. Maybe even try only working part-time for the first year or so. We can afford for you not to work so much, Betty. And the kids and I need you home, with us. And the second thing is..."

"Anything, Daniel. You've done so much for me. You know I feel the same about you. I'd...swim the East River in January for you, too. Or the Thames. I'll wear any sexy outfit you want. Whatever it is, I'll be happy to do it. I promise, _schmoopy_!"

He smiled, slyly, "We're going to name my son Craig!"

She rolled her eyes, sighing, "Fine, Daniel; if it's a boy this time, Craig it is."

"Daddy!" Bridget exclaimed excitedly.

"See? I told you!" he said proudly, as they fussed over little Bridget.

"You're right, Daniel. I should know by now, you always talk me into seeing things your way."

He kissed her and smiled, "Well, hey. I AM the Queen, remember?"


End file.
